Red Rose
by Hollyray
Summary: A special young redhead's dream of fame is setting into view..But it could mean never seeing Ash again.. Not to mention the one selfish person who plans to tear them apart. Deceit, betrayal, and confessions follow them..With a little hope on the side. ^^;
1. Lucky Stars

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you don't want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
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"Okay..You guys just wait here. The show will start in just a half hour. And then we can go to the next city..I promise, Ash." Her eyes pleaded with his.  
  
"Half hour? Are you serious? And the show lasts for about forty-five minutes..We'll never get out of here.."  
  
It took way too much begging Ash to get him to come to a small concert she was going to be in. Or she was going to be the star of. Brock didn't mind, but it was Ash who wanted to become a Pokemon Master. Maybe three hours of begging and a million promises were made, and Ash finally agreed to come. Although, part of him secretly didn't mind going at all.  
  
As you can probably tell, he kept one of his secrets about Misty quite well.  
  
"ASH! Just relax. I have to get into costume and it will start in..." She looked at her watch. "Twenty-nine minutes. Go have a battle with Brock or something." Misty sighed. It was her one chance to perform on a stage in front of many, many people..And she didn't want to give it up.  
  
Ash rolled his eyes.  
  
"Go, then. Not like we'll be going to the next city anytime soon."  
  
Misty almost groaned.  
  
"We'll be starting off for the next city in one hour and.. " She looked at her watch again. "Twenty-nine minutes and 40 seconds. Look! I'm already a minute and 20 seconds late."  
  
"I said to go get ready for your show. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere." Ash was pretty angry he couldn't be battling. Well, he was battling, but with Misty. He was looking for a different kind of battle.  
  
She sighed again. She didn't want to end the argument just yet, but he was right, even if she didn't want to admit it - - she had to get ready for the show.  
  
Both of them, being sixteen, were more stubborn then a mule and acted very childish at times like this. Poor Brock had to deal with both of them at once, but most of the time he wouldn't mind. Like now. Ash ran his hand through his hair tiredly, recalling the memory of him giving his hat to his mother for safe-keeping. It had been once too many times when he had almost lost it. His blue jacket was safely folded in his backpack. It was a little too warm out to be wearing it.  
  
All he had left on him was his black t-shirt and darkish blue jeans. His muscles had grown and he was much stronger then how he used to be. Sure, when he was twelve you could call him cute, but now... Well lets just say many girls have fallen for him instead of Brock. But do they ever fall for Brock? Truth be known, Brock was jealous.  
  
"Ash, we have to get some good seats. The place is practically empty, but it will be crawling with people in a little while."  
  
Ash just managed a small nod.  
  
"Right."  
  
Pikachu, who stood amazingly quiet for the last five minutes, followed Ash.  
  
'Whoa.. Can this stage get bigger?' Pikachu asked with amazement in his eyes.  
  
"If it did, I believe it would be bigger then my whole neighborhood." Ash replied to Pikachu.  
  
'Not one part of me doubts that.' Pikachu replied.  
  
"Come on, Ash! Cant you look somewhat happy for her?" Brock finally said.  
  
Ash raised his eyebrow at him. "Where did THAT come from?"  
  
"I don't know exactly. I've been thinking about it..And it looks like you don't want Misty to complete one of her major dreams. And yet she's been behind you with your Pokemon master dream. Couldn't you see the torn look on her face when you kept complaining that you didn't want to be here!" Brock took a deep breath before continuing. "Ok. I feel better. I finally got that out. I had to get that out sometime!"  
  
Ash looked at him strangely before continuing to speak as Brock motioned for him to come and sit in the front row, beside him.  
  
"Brock..You know what? I don't have a good comeback yet. I think I'll get back to you."  
  
Brock chuckled. "Just wait until you see the performance. You haven't been seeing her practice at all. You will be very much in awe. And then you will owe her the biggest apology of your life."  
  
"Brock, No offense to Misty, but she's a clumsy ditz. I don't think she could pull off being stared at by almost ten thousand people and actually put on a DECENT show.  
  
"And did I mention that she would get the biggest apology of her life from YOU, Ash? Be afraid, little grasshopper. Just be afraid."  
  
Ash rolled his eyes. Ash wasn't always this mean, but now he just was in a nervous wreck about his next battle. It scared him to death, and he knew he was wrong to take it out on Misty and Brock. He guessed he'd just have to enjoy the show with Pikachu and Brock by his side..And Misty up there on that huge stage.  
  
Ash truly had no clue what the show was about or how hard she had practiced. Misty had to communicate with the other dancers through telephone in order to learn more about her dance moves. She honestly had no idea how she was chosen. She may have been spied on when she was dancing for fun or something along those lines. She was just...chosen by people she'd never met before in her life.  
  
Ash opposed to the idea immediately. He was happy for her, but he didn't want her to do it. Brock figured it was because he didn't want Misty to become a famous star for his own reasons. They weren't selfish reasons at all..He was just afraid he would loose her one day. Even the day he had finally returned to her the bike which he owed her for a long time. He was dead afraid that she would leave him and go back to her sisters...But she didn't.  
  
He could not believe what she did with the bike. It made him want to cry tears of anger and happiness at the same time. He remembers it like it was just yesterday. He leaned back in his seat, relaxing his muscles as he recalled the memory.  
  
"Mi..Misty..I have a surprise for you..That I know is a long overdue surprise..But its a surprise nonetheless." Ash sighed sadly as he tried to keep smiling.  
  
"Ash..Are you sure I didn't hit you too hard..?" She asked with a concerned look on her face.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure." He laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.  
  
Before Misty could speak, he began, "You know..We've been through everything together..And.....why cant I say this..", His voice drifted off as he cleared his throat and began to speak again, "We've been through everything together, right?"  
  
She nodded and he continued speaking.  
  
"And it was always my fault you were here..Following me everywhere we went...And I just..."  
  
Misty interrupted him, "Your wrong! I came because I wanted to..And slightly because you basically trashed my bike..But that's not the point.. If I wanted to leave, I would have. Believe me. But I guess I just started to like you... as a friend, and I wanted to stay."  
  
He was grateful he wore his hat on that day because an unnoticed tear slid down his cheek when she said 'I just started to like you....as a friend'. He quickly wiped away the tear. If the hat's front didn't cover up his tear, he didn't know what Misty would say. Even worse - - what if she began to hug him and comfort him? He'd be embarassed until the end of everything. He wanted to break down and cry right there, but he wouldn't let himself. He was told once too many times that 'boys don't cry'.  
  
"Well.. about the surprise.. Since you said you want to stay, I guess it wouldn't matter much.. But.. I bought you a new bike, Misty. Mountain bike actually."  
  
Misty stared at him with nothing but disbelief in her eyes..And not to mention the shock, until realization hit her.  
  
"Liar..And it's not funny either." She sighed, hoping for a real surprise. What she had in mind was that he was going to give her a bracelet she knew all about. It was a special bracelet which held more meaning to her and Ash then the whole world, but we'll get into that later.  
  
"Don't believe me, eh?" He asked quietly with a small, but sad chuckle.  
  
"Brock..Bring it out.." He almost felt like he was on a gameshow announcing and bringing out prizes. He quickly shook away the feeling.  
  
Brock emerged behind the huge oak tree, only a few steps away, bringing along the bike. Misty's heart quickened and joy filled her eyes. She ran over and looked at the bike, examining it carefully. She even touched it to make sure it wasn't made of cheap plastic and would collapse the second she began to ride it. Ash wasn't playing a trick on her.  
  
She was about to jump on it and go for a short ride until she remembered about Ash. Sure, he was happy for her..But he did not want her to leave. She sighed and smiled to herself. She turned to Ash and noticed he was sadly looking over the ocean beneath him. They were on top of a small bridge, which crossed over an equally small river, at the time. He leaned against the railing. Sure he wanted her to be happy...But he wanted her to be happy with HIM.  
  
Misty sighed. 'The things I do for you, Ash Ketchum. The Things I do.'  
  
Pikachu grinned as it pretended to not be paying attention to what Misty was going to do next. Pikachu knew very well what would happen..And how.  
  
"Ash.." Misty began sadly, tapping him on the shoulder, attempting to get his attention.  
  
"I know..You have t...."  
  
"No! Let me talk first, master of interrupting."  
  
He sighed and then nodded. "Go ahead." He mumbled.  
  
"I think the bike is pretty weak. And it looks like it was made out of cheap plastic. The minute I sit on it, it'll just crash.. So I don't believe this bike is exactly fit for me. I guess I'm just going to have to....."  
  
She began to gently pick up the bike, with Brock's help.  
  
"I guess I have to throw it...into that river....down....there.." Misty said with struggle in her voice as Brock and Ash stared at her in complete shock.  
  
"She....She had some of that champagne you bought..Right, Brock? Or did I have a little too much? BROCK! MISTY!" Ash yelled as Brock and Misty let go of the bike...Down it went into the river with a big splash.  
  
Misty almost cried, but she knew someone would find it who actually needed it. The river was very gentle and clean, so it would merely float upstream to where the homes were aligned along the river. Ash couldn't stop looking at her like her hair was falling out.  
  
Brock looked afraid. As if he would cry any second.  
  
"...Brock..? I can understand why Ash looks like a bunch of eight year olds mooned him..But whats wrong with you?"  
  
"I'm..scared.."  
  
Misty looked at him confused.  
  
"..Why?"  
  
"I think your going to make me pay for that bike someday. You or Ash. One of you evil children. Or both.." Brock shuddered at the thought.  
  
Misty allowed a small laugh to escape her lips. She turned to Ash. "Well. I guess you stuck with me, Ash.. Better get your aspirin ready..", She paused, "And just for future reference, I doubt there's enough aspirin in the western hemisphere for you to deal with me."  
  
Ash blinked.  
  
"Misty...I won't say a word to you. I'm just going to walk away."  
  
Ash turned and walked towards the tree to sit down and relax..He tried his best to realize what had just happened along his short walk.  
  
"I'm walking now.." He mumbled. He sat down under the tree. Soon after Pikachu fell into his lap, laughing hysterically.  
  
"What...is..so..funny?" He said barely containing his anger.  
  
'You..are...so...stuck..with her..now..' Pikachu said inbetween laughs.  
  
He merely rolled his eyes in response.  
  
"Yes, I am stuck with her.. No getting out of now, Pikachu..Completely and totally stuck.." Ash said quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself.  
  
Brock looked at him strangely, along with Pikachu.  
  
'And they think Misty's weird. I wish I had a video camera right now.' Pikachu mumbled.  
  
Brock couldn't understand what Pikachu had just said, but he could tell off the look on Pikachu's face that he was feeling mischievous.  
  
Ash had an almost dreamy look on his face..And he was completely out of it.  
  
"...Would this be a good time to put his hand in cold water... or is it warm water?" Brock said with a small smile twitching at his lips.  
  
Pikachu knew the answer, but since Brock wouldn't be able to understand him, he forgot about the idea.  
  
"ASH!" Brock yelled, hitting him over the head in a not-so-gentle way.  
  
Ash finally managed to snap out of it and gave Brock a mean look.  
  
"What?!" Ash yelled back, attempting to control himself and not to punch Brock back.  
  
Pikachu rolled his eyes as people arriving stared at Brock and Ash, who were about to have an argument.  
  
"Pay attention! The show is going to start in about uhm..ten minutes.."  
  
"Exactly, Brock! Those ten minutes, as far as I know, are my ten minutes and I can spend them passing out if I want to!" Ash narrowed his eyes at him.  
  
Ash and Brock were best friends through thick and thin.. And their argument right now was absolutely ridiculous.  
  
"Well their MY ten minutes too and I can spend them waking you up from your little fantasies if I want to! Gee, don't we all wonder what those little fantasies are ABOUT? Or should I say WHO?!" Brock yelled back.  
  
"Don't you assume who I have dreams about! You have no right! And as if you don't WISH officer Jenny and Nurse Joy dressing up in little play suits for your birthday!" Ash yelled quite loudly, drawing more attention.  
  
"I don't know what your talking about. And apparently, neither do you."  
  
Before Ash spoke again, he decide to speak lower because some people were looking at him quite strangely. Being as irritated as he was, he plainly didn't care.  
  
"AUGH! Never mind!" He yelled over the crowds of people suddenly entering the stadium.  
  
Brock decided not to say something like 'Yeah. Because you really don't have any idea what your talking about..' just to annoy him more, but even if he tried he wouldn't be able to get his voice over the crowds of people entering the stadium and taking their seats.  
  
Ash had an angry look on his face before his eyes wondered towards the curtain. There was Misty, peeking out her head, staring at the crowds of people. Her eyes wondered by Ash.  
  
She smiled nervously as he mouthed to her, "Good luck." Ash suddenly forgot about being mad at Brock and the short fight they had and waited for the show to finally begin. Ash knew it was supposed to be some kind of musical play, and it was very romantic. He knew he would yawn and end up asleep if it was a romantic play, but something told him he was going to be blown away.  
  
'Ash!' Pikachu yelled for the hundredth time as he sat in his lap. He was about to use thundershock on him, but Ash finally looked down.  
  
"What?" Ash tried to get his voice over the screaming crowd. They screamed as if they knew Misty or something..Maybe they were just very excited.  
  
'Why are you scared? I bet your more nervous then Misty.'  
  
Ash laughed, trying to act as if it weren't true.  
  
"I'm not scared...I'm just a little....Excited, I guess."  
  
'Well then I guess you know, since your so excited.' Pikachu made himself more comfortable on Ash's lap.  
  
"Know what?" Ash said loudly.  
  
'The last song..' Pikachu said tiredly.  
  
"..Your point being? What about the last song?"  
  
'Misty will point to someone in the crowd. Before you tense up and run away, no one knows who she will point to. Whoever she points to will be her new "boyfriend". Not for real though. Just for the play to make her other..........' Pikachu stopped talking, realizing he was about to give away the whole plot of the musical.  
  
'Well, you just have to wait and see how the story goes to understand what I was about to tell you. Misty wanted me to tell you to listen to the lyrics mostly. That's how the story is written..Through the music. Oh..I forgot to mention, that when she picks the guy, if she accepts her they both dance to some romantic song on stage.'  
  
Ash looked blankly at Pikachu after finally understanding all he had told him.  
  
He slowly nodded. "Alright. Thanks for telling me..Now I guess I can get a head start on running." Ash said jokingly, but Pikachu didn't like it.  
  
Pikachu did thundershock, scaring the living ghost out of him. First off, it burnt him to a crisp, and second, he was shocked Pikachu did that to him.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ash yelled looking down at Pikachu. Ash gave an evil glance at Brock who was attempting not to laugh.  
  
'Who ever said Misty was going to pick you? There are many other guys in here, Ash. And if she did want to pick you, which would scare the daylights out of me, and you ran, she'd leave and never speak to you again. And she's one of my friends too."  
  
"Pikachu! Relax! I wouldn't run away.. I was joking! But like you said, she wouldn't pick me." Ash couldn't get his voice over the crowd anymore. It was much too strong. Pikachu merely shrugged and looked towards the stage.  
  
Brock turned his head every which way to see if Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy would be here. "They have to be..Look at all the people..There has to be someone to direct traffic..And what if there's a sudden pokemon battle..We'll need Nurse Joy!" Brock said to himself. After about ten hopeful minutes of searching he finally gave up and turned his head to the show.  
  
Everyone looked at the stage immediately as Misty appeared out of no where.. Misty was in costume already.. She wore low-cut blue jeans and a light blue tang top. Along with that a blue bandana, keeping her hair back. Her hair was left down which showed how long it had actually gotten. The red wavy silky strands of hair went down to the middle of her back. She was ready to go. For now at least.  
  
"Ahem...Excuse me.. " She smiled at the crowd when they all stood quiet.  
  
"Yeah yeah..I know what your thinking.. Here comes a big boring chat about the musical.." She heard the manager clear his throat. Practically the whole stadium heard him and felt the mean look he was giving her.  
  
"Ahem..Anyway, Before you fall asleep on me," She got another evil glare.  
  
"I just thought I'd tell you about this musical. It's about a girl..Who falls in love and discovers that the person she fell in love with..," She paused.. "Well....I guess you'll just have to figure that much out in the lyrics. Heh.."  
  
The manager held a content look on his face, so she continued.  
  
"So all I would like to say is, enjoy the show. I have lots of confidence you will..So please, just sit back and relax as me and my dancers entertain you!" She said with a small laugh.  
  
The crowd already liked her and most of them were chattering about how nice she was.  
  
'Nice first impression, Misty. Always a good step foward..' Ash and Pikachu both thought.  
  
Ash grinned at her and suddenly wasn't so mad he came. He saw how much she loved it, in her eyes. She loved it a lot, and he liked seeing her that way.  
  
"What more is there for me to say...Other then...," She let out a deep sigh. "Here we go."  
  
She disappeared behind the slightly invisible curtain. Ash smiled at how she tried to act as if she did this on a daily basis, and wasn't nervous one bit. Yeah. Right.  
  
The music began to blast through the speakers and Misty and four other dancers appeared on one side of the stage. On the other was a very handsome seventeen year old young man with four dancers of his own. There was a glass wall in-between them which would barely be noticeable to the people in the back rows. 'Thank God for glass walls..' Ash said in his head. He already didn't like that other boy who Misty was performing with. 'So much for his first impression' Ash thought.  
  
Ash noticed that Misty was now wearing a microphone headset. That meant only one thing. She was going to sing. As soon as the song's beat began, Misty danced along with the other four dancers following her every move. [authors note: you may wanna have "Upside Down" by *A Teens playing.. ^^; You'll like the part of the story more! ^^]  
  
Misty opened her mouth and sang as she danced. Ash was about to get up and kill that other boy. He was making faces at Misty until his part was to sing. He stopped making faces after watching Misty dance for a while, but then he realized it was all a part of the act because Misty was making faces at him while he sang.  
  
My grades are down from A's to D's..I'm way behind in history..I lost myself in fantasies..  
  
Of you and me together..I don't know why-i-i but dreaming's all I do..I won't get by-i-i- on mere imagination..  
  
She sang quite well in her sweet voice. Especially when the background singers joined in for the chorus. They almost sounded as one as they sang.  
  
Upside down..Bouncing off the ceiling..Inside out..Stranger to this feeling..Got no clue what I should do..But I'll go crazy if I can't get next to you....to you..  
  
Lights shown on Misty and that other boy's face mostly. Even on the big screen for the people in the back rows to see, you could see sweat beginning to appear on her face and arms. She didn't know if it was because of her nervousness or if she was REALLY sweating.  
  
Ash controlled himself not to boo the 'cute guy' who was singing. He wasn't that great of a singer anyway, but Ash still managed to control himself.  
  
My teacher says to concentrate..So what- his name was Peter the Great..  
  
Ash rolled his eyes. "I could do a better job." He mumbled.  
  
The kings and queens will have to wait..Cause I don't have forever...  
  
Misty sang and turned to look at the boy, the same as he looked at her every chance he could get.  
  
I wish that i-i-i could walk right up to you..Each time I try-i-i the same old hesitation..  
  
Upside down..Bouncing off the ceiling..Inside out..Stranger to this feeling..Got no clue what I should do..But I'll go crazy if I can't get next to you, to you....  
  
Misty began walking towards the glass, as well as the boy..  
  
Somehow someday..You will love me too..One day will be the day when all my dreams come true...  
  
Misty pressed her hands against the glass wall and sang passion in her heart. She did her best not to look at Ash..Especially not while she was singing those words. The boy had to act as if he was trying very hard to ignore her. Finally, she turned away.  
  
Upside Down! Ooh Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!  
  
She began dancing again. She sang the chorus twice more, much more confident then when she first started out.  
  
And I'll go crazy if I cant get next....And I'll go crazy if I cant get next.....And I'll go crazy if I cant get next you.......  
  
She finished dancing, along with the boy and the lights grew darker as an uproar of applause came. People screamed for Misty and clapped roughly, standing up.  
  
Ash thought in his mind as he was sitting back down.. 'Okay..So far a girl THINKS she really likes this boy, but he's not so crazy about her. Got it.'  
  
After about five minutes, the crowd waited in the darkness until the lights suddenly flashed on. It happened so suddenly, he thought team rocket was here and was awaiting to here them recite their poem, but when the music started, he figured Team Rocket wouldn't have the brains to control the music and lights.  
  
Words are incapable of explaining how amazed he was at what Misty just did. Just now he was noticing how her beauty was now in full bloom.  
  
The lights made their way on top of Misty, standing there by herself, waiting for the music to begin. She had changed into a white, long dress with simple spaghetti straps that hung onto her shoulders. Ash was even more amazed..If that was possible. He gasped at how wonderfully it showed her womanly features. Her dress was so simple and yet so..facinating all at one time. The dress was made for her. Her hair stood down, but this time there was no bandana.  
  
The music began as she slowly walked towards the microphone sitting on the microphone stand.  
  
[Authors note: yeah.. you might wanna have "I Wanna Be With You" by Mandy Moore.. heh.. ^^;]  
  
She stood close to the microphone, feeling Ash watching her every move. She closed her eyes, imagining she was looking at him as she sang. This, coming from her wildest dreams, she knew she would never actually be able to sing this to him out of shyness. No, in stead she was singing it in front of ten thousand people. Great.  
  
I try but I can't seem to get myself to think of anything but you..Your breath on my face, your warm gentle kiss, I taste the truth..I taste the truth..  
  
Misty picked up the microphone from the stand and walked towards the glass wall. The boy appeared walking around the stage floor, as if he had no idea she were watching him. He seemed to be interested in reading some book.  
  
'I really doubt he can actually read..' Ash muttered, ignoring the glare Pikachu gave him  
  
'Shut up already.'  
  
You know what I came here for... so I won't ask for more...  
  
Misty sang as she gently touched the glass wall. She seemed as if she wished the glass wall was actually the boy.  
  
I wanna be with you.. if only for a night..to be the one whose in your arms, who holds you tight.. I wanna be with you.. There's nothing more to say.. There's nothing else I want more than  
  
to feel this way..I wanna be with you..  
  
She was quite a good actor because she seemed like she was actually in love with that other guy. She was almost convincing Ash when the boy looked up and gave her a loving glance. 'THAT was not part of the show....' Ash clenched his teeth shut and tightened his grip on the chair he was occupying.  
  
'Relax..' Pikachu mumbled, looking at him with slight shock in his eyes.  
  
So I'll hold you tonight, like I would if you were mine..To hold forever more..  
  
She finally turned away from the glass wall, looking as if she wanted to cry.  
  
And I'll saver each touch that I wanted so much to feel before (To feel before).. How beautiful it is, just to be like this..  
  
She kept turning back to the wall, looking even sadder every time she looked at him.  
  
Oh baby.. I can't fight this feeling anymore.. It drives me crazy when I try to  
  
She sat herself down next to the glass wall, touching it, pretending that she wished the boy would look at her.  
  
So call my name, Take my hand.. Make my wish, Baby, your command?  
  
She become more passionate as she sang the higher notes. Her eyes were closed as she faced the microphone, grasping on to it with both hands, afraid she would drop it. She stood up and walked around her part of the stage, making hand gestures as she sang.  
  
Yeah.. I wanna be with you.. There's nothing more to say. There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way...  
  
As the end of the song neared, she put the microphone and put it back at its place on the stand. When the last sound of the song came, she whispered "I want to be with you..." to the boy, even if she did want it to go in Ash's direction. She stepped back into the darkness and quickly ran to get into the new costume before the next song began.  
  
She was practically shaking at how nervous she was. She didn't know if the audience liked her, hated her, loved her, and especially what Ash thought. She couldn't tell by the look he gave her a couple of times. He'd never given that look to her before. She couldn't even tell by the look on Pikachu or Brock's faces either. She was stuck.  
  
'You could almost say they looked mesmerized or something..Well if they mesmerized already, I hope they are ready for the second part of the show...Especially Ash..' She thought to herself with an evil grin on her face.  
  
"Misty..What are you thinking? Do I honestly want to know?" Racheal, Misty's friend that she met through the music business. They enjoyed eachother's company very much, knowing very well they would stay friends for quite a while.  
  
"Rach..You don't want to know. Believe me." Misty said, the small evil smile never leaving her face, and poured herself a cup of water quickly, but being careful enough not to spill any.  
  
"So.. Did you choose who your going to point at? If I were you, I'd know. Oh boy would I know. Did you see that heaven-on-earth creature in the first row? His hair as black as night.. His face as pure and soft as I don't know what....Not to mention his body. Can you say 'muscles'? Whew.." Racheal fanned herself with a towel that was supposed to be given to Misty, to help her get rid of some of the sweat.  
  
"...Rach..Did he have a Pikachu in his lap?" Misty snatched the towel from Racheal playfully.  
  
Racheal nodded. "Mmhm..If he follows me home, can I keep him?"  
  
"Were you talking about the Pikachu or the boy?", She paused, "And you don't even know his name." Misty took a drink from her water, waiting for Racheal's comeback.  
  
"No.. But I know you do. You came in here with that creature of heaven. What is his name? Please tell me, Misty!", She thought for a moment, "I'll give you a cookie." The desperation in her voice was beyond evident.  
  
"Ash." Misty mumbled, looking away.  
  
"He's actually..my..err...Best friend.." She added.  
  
Racheal stared at her wide-eyed, in pure disbelief.  
  
"You are a lucky star, Mist. You really are. Your about as lucky as they come..And you know how much I love you..And your such a wonderful singer and dan....."  
  
"ALRIGHT, Rach! If you like him that much to comment me, I'll be somewhat nice and hook you two up. Maybe. And the comments were very nice. Continue on, my friend."  
  
Racheal gave a small giggle and pushed a strand of her brownish curls out of her face.  
  
"Too bad, Mist... We have to change costumes now. No time for comments. Heh. Lucky me." She said, obviously attempting to hide the nervousness in her voice.  
  
Misty rolled her eyes as she took another sip from her water as Ash had some thinking of his own going through his mind.  
  
'Okay..Let's see.. Boy begins to notice girl, girl is sure that it is love she is feeling for boy.. And.. That's all I've got so far.' Ash sighed, thinking to himself.  
  
'I guess I'll just have to wait for the next part.' He brought his attention back to the stage as well as Brock.  
  
Brock was looking over Ash with a grin on his face before when Misty sang.  
  
'I haven't even been as sprung as him over any girl. Lucky for him, she's just as in love with him. Lucky guy. Stupid luck. He found love. And I'm still hooked on Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy.' Brock thought to himself, rolling his eyes.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
that is it! ^^ chapter 1 is ended! I promise things will get more exciting! -smiles evilly- There will be many cliffhangers you guys will be forced to face. ^^ -runs away happily, with nothing more to say- 


	2. I Choose You

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~  
  
  
  
The next performance was one Ash would have nightmares about in the nights to come.  
  
"Must they touch eachother....every....two...SECONDS?!" Ash hissed at Brock.  
  
"Do I look like I'm controlling the dance moves? Calm down!" Brock replied and turned his head one last time in search of Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny.  
  
'They don't look like dance moves to me.. They look more like their about to........' Pikachu was cut off by Ash clenching his mouth shut.  
  
"Don't even say it. Just don't even say it."  
  
Brock managed to control himself and not literally fall over laughing at how easily Ash was jealous.  
  
"Does Misty realize they're CHILDREN HERE?!" Ash yelled.  
  
Pikachu rolled his eyes.  
  
'Get..over it.. Your just wishing it was you, eh?' Pikachu asked as if he like seeing Ash about to blow up over something so minor.  
  
"You know, I still don't see why they took away the glass wall. It was practically my best friend, and then they go and pull it away." Ash sighed loudly with exasperation.  
  
Misty could feel Ash's eyes practically burning her skin from all the anger radiating from him... Or was it jealousy?  
  
The boy spun Misty around and followed her wherever she went around the stage, touching her every chance he could get.  
  
And I can't help myself.. When you put your hands on me.. It's paradise, when you and I get close, get tight.. When all I wanna, go all, all night.. I wanna play that game with you baby. Listen to me.  
  
It was obvious Misty was playing hard to get because when he would touch her, she'd walk away. Although it'd take her an awfully long time to walk away.  
  
All I want is you, come over here baby.. All I want is you (oh oh), you know you make me go crazy  
  
All I want is you (yeah yeah), now baby don't be shy. You better cross the line.. I'm gonna love you right.. 'Cause all I want is you  
  
Misty stood in the middle of the stage with the boy behind her as the background dancers danced around them. She turned to look him in the eyes and he slowly ran his hands down her arms and hips as she sang in a very...spicy tone of voice..  
  
Ash wanted to just crawl into a little corner, curled up in a little ball, and wait for death to come his way.  
  
Don't you wanna be the one tonight.. We could do exactly what you like.. Don't you wanna be just  
  
you and me? We could do what comes so naturally.. I got a thing for you.. Got my mind made up (yeah).. And I'm serious, never been more baby.. I'm sure that it's real (so sure).. And it's right here, uh come on.  
  
The boy lowered his head towards Misty and was going to kiss her. He was slowly beginning to close the gap between their lips. It was part of the show to do that, but that's not what Misty thought.. Ash cringed in his seat, closing his eyes tight, and telling himself to not go up there and kill him.  
  
Misty made it seem as if he had spun her around and away from him as she began making up her own complex moves to the song, just so she didn't have to kiss the boy. Racheal and the other backup dancers looked confused, but managed to follow Misty's moves.  
  
The boy looked the most stunned then all of them, but followed Misty in the dance moves so he didn't look as stupid as he really was. Misty almost cringed when she saw the look the manager was giving her. He saw what had happened...And she was going to get it.  
  
Oooh yeah yeah.. You give me what a girl feels, what a girl likes, what a girl needs, what a girl wants...  
  
Misty closed her eyes tightly again and looked so worried she would make a mistake with the high notes.  
  
All I..All I want is you..Ooh baby... All I want is you.. Oh you make me go crazy.. Now baby don't be shy, you better cross the line, I'm gonna love you right, cause all I want is you..  
  
Misty and Ash both sighed with relief as the song ended. Brock was just staring straight at Ash the whole time, in pure astonishment at how easily Ash could become jealous. After this night, Brock wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the evil green eyed monster and Ash.  
  
"...Is....Is it over? I think my eyes have been blinded." Ash said, slowly opening his eyes, to find everything was dark around the stage again.  
  
Brock blinked.  
  
"Unless they have a special part of the show which is done in the darkness and in a deadly silence, except for the moans that can slightly be heard, yeah, I guess it's over, Ash. Well at least that song is.."  
  
"Thanks. I don't think I've ever felt more sick in my life."  
  
'You..have...no..idea..' Pikachu mumbled, holding on to his stomach as if he would vomit any second..  
  
"SEE! That's why we need Nurse Joy around here!" Brock said, guessing Pikachu's stomach hurt from seeing him holding his stomach tightly.  
  
Ash raised his eyebrows at Brock.  
  
"Honestly.." Ash muttered.  
  
'So.. What can you tell about the story through the lyrics so far?' Pikachu asked.  
  
"Well..Misty and stupid boy are going to get frisky tonight, obviously."  
  
Pikachu sighed.  
  
'Close enough.'  
  
They waited in the dark for a good ten, boring minutes. Most of the crowd was just about to fall asleep when the lights shown on Misty, who was lying on a bed looking very interested in a book she was supposedly reading. What was with all the books?  
  
On the other side of the stage, there was Racheal and the boy.  
  
"Racheal...I never liked her..She was just a girl on the side, basically. I've always liked you. I don't see why you don't feel the same way about me." The boy said with hints of exhaustion in his voice.  
  
"She...She's my best friend and she loves you.. I wouldn't do that to her. I don't know...." Racheal replied, sounding unsure of herself.  
  
Ash watched the play completely interested in what was happening..  
  
"But..Would this help..?" The boy asked, leaning down to kiss her. Racheal's mind told her to pull away, but her heart wanted nothing but to stay. And there they were. Kissing and Misty not noticing.  
  
Racheal stopped and pulled away.  
  
"No! I wont!" She yelled, backing away from him slowly like he was a criminal.  
  
He looked at her shocked, and began to walk towards her.  
  
"How...how could you? How could I?" Racheal asked before turning and running away. Misty barely contained a laugh when the crowd went "Awww..."  
  
The lights began to dim on top of the boy and grew brighter against Misty as the phone next to her began to ring. Misty seemed tired as she picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?...Hey Rach..Listen, I cant talk..I'm expecting a call from someone........ What? N..No he didn't...Jason wouldn't do that to me..," Misty stuttered, "You..Your just a liar, Rach.. I always knew you were jealous. Besides, he would never do that to me..I know him...."  
  
Misty stood up from the bed and walked around, tears beginning to form in her eyes.  
  
"Maybe I don't know him well enough.. " She sighed, and seemed to have been a little taken off guard when music began to suddenly play.  
  
In the play, Racheal was outraged that Misty didn't believe her and was beyond angry. She was going to tell her with music. [authors note: you may want He Loves Me, He Loves You Not by Dream playing. ^^]  
  
Racheal came out from the darkness singing.  
  
Give it your all girl.. Give it all you got.. You can take your chance, and take your best shot.  
  
They narrowed their eyes at eachother as Misty sang her part.  
  
Say what you want girl.. Do what you do.. He's never gonna, gonna make it with you.  
  
'Ooh..I get it.. Their fighting through music.' Pikachu said, growing more interested by the second.  
  
"Go Misty!" Ash yelled with a chuckle, although he still had some anger flowing through his veins because of Jason.  
  
Racheal moved in closer to Misty, getting ready to hurt her as well as Misty.  
  
You're pulling petals off a flower. Trying to get your way.. Keep pulling till it says what you want it to say.. Girl, you can pick a field full of daisies, but he'd still be my baby.  
  
It's almost as if you could sense actual anger flowing between them. Misty was trying to stay angry, imagining Ash was the boy that she had stolen from her. She guessed that Racheal was just an incredible actress.  
  
I know you can hardly wait till I'm away from him.. Instinctively I know what you're thinking  
  
You'll be giving him an open invitation, but my baby won't be taken in, no.  
  
They faced eachother and it seemed they would just attack eachother any second.  
  
Racheal sang half of the pre-chorus.  
  
You can pout your cherry lips.. Try to tempt him with a sweet kiss..  
  
And Misty finished it up,  
  
You can flirt your pretty eyes.. He ain't got his hands tied.  
  
Just when you'd think they were going to attack eachother, they both suddenly turn and face the audience and began dancing and singing to the chorus together. One by one, back up dancers came out and began dancing with them.  
  
No chains to unlock.. So free to do what he wants. He's into what he's got.. He loves me, he loves you not. No matter what you do.. He's never gonna be with you.. He's into what he's got.. He loves me, he loves you not.  
  
Ash watched Misty carefully, his eyes following her every move. She felt him watching her. And It was incredibly uncomfortable, especially now.  
  
'Ash Ketchum..If you keep watching me like a hawk I am going to screw up very badly here.' Misty thought before she began singing her part in the song.  
  
You're the kind of girl that's always up for do or dare.. Only want him just because he's there Always looking for a new ride.. The grass is greener on the other side.  
  
Racheal gave Misty a rough push before her own solo began. Misty stopped dancing and gave Racheal an evil look, while putting her hands on her hips. She ignored Misty as best as she could and sang.  
  
You're the kind of girl who's not use to hearing "no".. All your lovers try to take you where you wanna go.. Doesn't matter how hard you try. Never gonna get with my guy.  
  
Misty gave Racheal a rough push with both of her hands. She took about six steps backwards. As the chorus began and they both sang, at the same time they slowly walked closer to eachother with that fake anger in their eyes.  
  
No chains to unlock.. So free to do what he wants. He's into what he's got.. He loves me, he loves you not. No matter what you do.. He's never gonna be with you.. He's into what he's got.. He loves me, he loves you not.  
  
Out of nowhere, Jason appeared with a stupid grin on his face. He seemed to be enjoying seeing two girls fight over him as Racheal began to sing again, walking towards Jason, and completely forgetting about Misty.  
  
Doesn't matter what you do.. He's never gonna be with you.  
  
Misty followed Racheal, also walking towards Jason.  
  
"Kill her, Misty.. And while you at it, Kill him too.. " Ash said with an evil tone to his voice, talking to no one in particular. Pikachu looked at him strangely, but went back to watching the musical shortly after while mumbling, 'He gives a new meaning to jealousy.'  
  
Give it all girl, Give it all you got.. Take a chance, and take your best shot.  
  
Racheal got a hold on Jason's hand as Misty grabbed the other hand. They both sang the rest of the song together, both pulling on Jason, wanting him for their own.  
  
Say what you want girl.. Do what you do. He's never gonna make it with you.  
  
The chorus finally came up, and Misty let go of Jason along with Racheal, which meant they both gave up. All three of them began dancing to the chorus, but only Misty and Racheal sang, of course.  
  
'Well..At least he isn't singing.' Pikachu said with a quiet giggle.  
  
No chains to unlock.. So free to do what he wants. He's into what he's got.. He loves me, he loves you not. No matter what you do.. He's never gonna be with you.. He's into what he's got.. He loves me, he loves you not.  
  
The song ended with a loud bang and they all held hands, bowing down to the audience. People clapped hysterically.  
  
"Well. It wasn't as bad as the one before it. That other performance gives me shivers." Ash shook his head, as if he was shaking the memory out.  
  
Brock raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Unbelievable." Brock shook his head and brought his attention back to the musical.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Misty was waiting for the manager to come screaming through that backstage door, but there was no interruption. 'Thank God he's a lazy bum.' Misty thought to herself.  
  
"Aydee, can you hand me that towel?" Misty asked while pouring herself another cup of water. If she kept drinking water at this rate, she'd have to go to the bathroom nonstop.  
  
"Sure....." Aydee said with an evil grin on her face.  
  
"Thanks so much.. I think I'm really beginning to get the hang of th- -"  
  
Misty stopped speaking when a towel that was rolled into a ball was hurled at her. Aydee had always disliked Misty when she suddenly became the star of the show. Aydee was supposed to be the star, but when the manager saw Misty, he knew she'd fit the part much better then Aydee.  
  
"Th..Thanks...Ahem.. " She cleared her throat and cleaned the sweat off of her face with the towel. Aydee walked away from Misty angrily.  
  
Misty thought it wouldn't be so bad to hurl a couple of basketballs at Aydee. She was so tired of being treated like dirt. She didn't ask to be the star of some musical, so why was she getting towel balls thrown at her?  
  
Misty sighed and shook her head as she changed into her costume, silently thanking the manager Aydee wouldn't be one of the back-up dancers anymore. After this concert Misty would be home free.. Back on the road with Ash, and free of Aydee.  
  
She smiled to herself at the thought. Truth be known, she could not wait to be walking beside Ash again. She missed being beside him the second she went to go get ready.  
  
'Just another half hour to go...Thirty more minutes..You can do it, Mist. Yup, you sure can. Definately..No doubt.. Right.' She cleared her throat again, reaching for her cup of water.  
  
'But thirty minutes is so...long...' She almost groaned.  
  
  
  
***  
  
"Okay.. So far, Girl falls in love with boy..Boy finally loves girl back..But boy is an evil spawn of Satan.. Therefore, both girls give up on boy.. And are best friends again?" Ash said, slightly unsure of himself.  
  
Pikachu nodded. 'I think so. I'm not sure he's a spawn of satan, but it seems to all fit.'  
  
Pikachu seemed to become started when the music suddenly began to play, and someone was singing, who sounded like somewhat Misty, but you couldn't see anyone. Before Ash started to become worried, the lights slowly went on and he could see Misty and three other shadows.  
  
Yeah I was right there.. like the "littlewife".. I was everything that you need, always in line.  
  
I was living you, loving you, filling your desires.. But that was then-this is now, look me in the eyes.  
  
The three other shadows revealed Racheal and two other dancers. They walked towards the center of the stage as they sang the pre-chorus.  
  
Oh oh oh oh - if love could choose sides.. Oh oh oh oh - it's taken mine (so)  
  
There was a loud boom and fire emerged from both sides of the stage as they sang the chorus.  
  
Get over yourself..goodbye.. It must be hard to be you, yeah.. Living in your life.. I was always the one to cry.. Now everything, everything, everything is all right.. Get over yourself, know why.. Cause without you see i do anything i like.. Sometimes i stay out all night.. And everything, everything, everything is all right.  
  
Suddenly Jason appeared out of nowhere, trying to touch Misty as she sang. First he made a grab for Misty, but she roughly pushed him away.  
  
"Go get him Misty..Go get him! Make him pay!" Ash evilly chanted in his seat.  
  
Pikachu merely rolled his eyes, as well as Brock.  
  
This just can't be it, I kept telling myself.. And every magazine said was me was on the shelf..  
  
I was given out, giving in, giving way my dreams.. While you put it in, put me down, now i found my self esteem..  
  
Jason soon walked up to Racheal and gave her a meaningful look, but she also simply pushed him away from her. Jason gave Misty a mean glare before disappearing into the darkness.  
  
Oh oh oh oh you won't get me back.. Oh oh oh oh think i overact? (well)  
  
Misty danced harder and with more passion then she had ever in her life. She was doing her absolute best..And the dancers were still attempting to keep up with her.  
  
Get over yourself..goodbye.. It must be hard to be you, yeah.. Living in your life.. I was always the one to cry.. Now everything, everything, everything is all right.. Get over yourself, know why.. Cause without you see i do anything i like.. Sometimes i stay out all night.. And everything, everything, everything is all right.  
  
She was almost scaring Ash at how forcefully she was dancing. She made it seem as if the way her body was moving was creating the music.. She loved that feeling.  
  
So now you wanna talk.. Say let's do it just once more for luck.. Like old times make up  
  
Better yet just forget better get over yourself.. So stay in touch.. When you learn a few things about love.. Until then wake up.. Better yet better get better get over yourself..  
  
All four of them sang the chorus one last time and stopped to pose. The loud boom went off again and the fire made itself known. All four of them were breathing heavily, but Misty was breathing the heaviest of all of them.  
  
Misty let a couple of seconds pass before she spoke to the audience. She could barely breathe. The audience watched the sweat on her face, neck, arms, and her slightly showing stomach from the huge television screen as she opened her mouth to attempt to speak.  
  
"I'd like to thank all of you..For being such a wonderful audience..And for clapping even if you thought I was horrible.." Misty said with a laugh.  
  
She continued before the manager had the time to give her another evil glare, "Anyway, I will now begin to choose a boy from the audience to be my new boyfriend in this musical.. Then I will sing a song dedicated to him, and if he accepts my love, then he will have to step forward and dance with me. Sounds terrifying, eh?" Most of the crowd laughed.  
  
Ash was far too nervous to laugh. Brock and Pikachu seemed to be content with everything, but Ash was passed the 'loosing it' stage. He looked like he was already in the 'I need a padded room' stage.  
  
Misty looked through the audience, seeming as if she didn't know who to pick, but he was staring at her all this time.  
  
Brock was paying close attention to Racheal as she neared Misty and whispered something in her ear. From the way Misty's eyes sparkled, he could tell it was about Ash. Misty nodded with a grin on her face.  
  
Most of the males in the crowd stood in a deadly silence when Misty began speaking again, "With the help of my friends..I made a decision.." She allowed a giggle to escape her lips when she pointed her finger at the lucky young man.  
  
"I choose you."  
  
  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~  
  
I can do nothing but imagine all the hatemail im going to get because I ended it there.. ^^; Don't fear, in a couple of days chapter 3 will be here! Heh..I rhymed. Oh! I forgot to mention that the songs I used were never mine and never will be mine unfortunately o.o; I promise youu next chapter will be loads interesting! ^^ bai! 


	3. The Last Song

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~  
  
  
  
Ash gave her an excited grin as she pointed at him, using all the strength possessed in his body not to jump up and run around more excited then a man who'd won a million dollars.  
  
"By Gosh! And I could have sworn she was pointing at Pikachu." Brock said with a thick sarcasm in his voice.  
  
Pikachu looked at Brock.  
  
'I thought so too. Heh.' Pikachu mumbled before looking up at Ash. He stuck his claws out threateningly.  
  
'Run...And then you be scratched.' Pikachu held his claws closer to Ash's face.  
  
Ash was far to excited to even notice if Pikachu electrocuted him. The crowd cheered on Ash and he felt as if he were in a different world. His own world. Of course Ash knew secretly that she wouldn't pick anyone BUT him, but he still couldn't help but slightly worry if she didn't pick him.  
  
Misty could have sworn he was going to run away from the way he got so incredibly excited..She mouthed "Thank you" to him as the music began.  
  
Ash was completely in a different world and probably the happiest teenager alive. He knew he shouldn't make a big deal out of it.. Afterall, him and Misty were just best friends. Yeah. Right. As they both grew, so did their love for eachother. It came a lot easier for both of them do to innocent flirting as they got older. They both also learned not to make big deals out of nothing. Like if he kissed her forehead, Misty did her best not to make a big deal out of it and think that he was madly in love with her.  
  
"She...picked.... ME!" He managed to say out of excitement.  
  
Pikachu rolled his eyes.  
  
'I bet if you weren't here she would have picked me.' Pikachu giggled.  
  
Ash kept his eyes directly on Misty, ignoring both Pikachu and Brock, not even noticing that before the huge screen was showing his overjoyed face to nearly ten thousand people. He didn't care either.  
  
'Okay..I'm just going to go up there, be the charmer that I am, and plainly dance with her. Nothing big. Maybe even 'wow' some girls in the audience. Heh.'  
  
He took in deep long breaths to relax himself before he had another nervous breakdown.  
  
'Okay okay.. Think.. Now.. Lets see.. Girl likes boy, boy eventually likes girl..Boy cheats on girl.. aw, how sad.. But the best part, girl picks me to be new boyfriend..Hah! And now Jason is incredibly angry at dear ol' charming and extremely cute Ash. Oh boy. I think someone is feeling ugly. Heh.'  
  
Ash was acting as silly as he was excited. [authors note: you may want to have "Once In A Blue Moon" by Sydney Forests playing. ^^ It may be a hard song to find, though. :x]  
  
The room is melting.. The lights are dim, and my heart wonders If I'll ever see you again..  
  
This was the song Misty was singing, trying to prove her 'love' to Ash. He could tell she was by far more nervous then how she had started out.  
  
My tears are hungry.. For an open door.. When your arms held me.. I never felt this way before.  
  
Brock looked them over and the look they were giving eachother. Misty looked into Ash's deep brown, meaningful eyes which gave her the strength to sing the song as best as she possibly could, and even if she messed up she wouldn't care because she would still be looking into his eyes.  
  
My tears are hungry.. For an open door.. When your arms held me.. I never felt this way before.  
  
And I'll be waiting..And I'll be watching under a blue moon. The taste of heaven only happens once in a blue moon.  
  
"I said it once..And I'll say it again...", Brock began, "Unbelievable. They look at eachother like it's the first time they were in any human contact with eachother." He muttered.  
  
Do you remember when the wind blew free?.. We fit together so naturally.  
  
'MIST! What are you doing! Your looking at him like he's CHOCOLATE  
  
PUDDING, for goodness sakes.' She scolded herself, in her mind.  
  
And I'll be waiting.. And I'll be watching under a blue moon.. The taste of heaven.. Only happens once in a blue moon.  
  
'Look away.. come on.. Look away..You can do it, Mist...'  
  
If the wind closes the door.. People open another..  
  
By some strange higher power, she managed to tear her eyes away from his, but with just a short matter of time she'd find herself looking into his eyes once more.  
  
And I'll be waiting.. And I'll be watching under a blue moon.. The taste of heaven.. Only happens once in a blue moon.  
  
She couldn't believe she had finally managed to finish the song. It was such a relieving moment. That meant she had to stop looking at Ash, right? Wrong.  
  
He couldn't help but smile confidently at the almost magical effect he had on her. He was a charmer alright.. He was a charmer.  
  
"Well. I cant say you've looked at anyone the way you look at her. Well maybe you look at yourself that way, but hey, what can you do?" Brock said with a snicker.  
  
"I'll ignore that, Brock. I can do nothing but pity you and your large amount of jealousy towards me." Ash said quite confidently and turned his attention back to Misty.  
  
Racheal went up to Misty and took off her microphone headpiece and put it on her own head.  
  
"Give him a big kiss for me. Now let me go get that boy up here to dance with you. And don't worry about him suddenly getting extremely nervous and running off." Racheal said almost below a whisper, with a small giggle as she pointed towards one side of the stage. The audience couldn't see it, but there stood duck tape and crazy glue.  
  
"That's my Racheal." Misty smiled confidently as Racheal walked up and greeted the audience.  
  
"Now..If I may please have your attention.." Racheal began. The crowd slowly brought their attention towards Racheal as silence spread. It was almost scary how quickly everyone gave their attention to Racheal. The silence added to the spookiness.  
  
"I will be singing the last song of the night..And Misty and err....the chosen one will dance." Racheal's voice echoed through the deadly silent stadium. The bright smile on her face brought more comfort to the audience. It was almost like they were upset it was almost over and they didn't want to miss a thing. Not a thing.  
  
"And a big thank you to all of you for coming.. The music, please..And..err... The chosen boy.." Racheal motioned for Ash to get up and walk up the stage. He merely nodded in response.  
  
Misty smoothed the the white dress with her hands that she wore before, as if the white satin had any wrinkles. As Ash made his way onto the stage it seemed to be the longest walk of his life.  
  
Misty waited on the stage looking like a nervous wreck with her eyes closed. Some of the audience wondered if she was doing meditation to calm herself. She acted as if she was actually afraid he wouldn't come, until she remembered the crazy glue and duck tape. Ash looked over her worried face and couldn't help but smile. He decided to finally make himself known.  
  
He gently allowed his arms to linger on her waist as her eyes slowly opened and a smile spread across her face. He lead her around the dance floor.  
  
She wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling softly.  
  
"What's so funny?" He asked, almost below a whisper as the music began.  
  
"Here I am..Thinking you wouldn't make it. And relax. You can talk as loudly as your vocal cords will stretch, and no one will hear you without the microphone.."  
  
"Oh..Heh.."  
  
[authors note: i think you'll like this part of the story more if you have "Heart Of Innocence" by Jessica Simpson playing. ^^]  
  
Sometimes I wake up in the dark night. And in my mind there's a picture of you. I know someday this dream will come alive. So, for now your shadow will do.  
  
"I cant believe you." He attempted to say without the smile twitching at his lips.  
  
I've never seen your face but I know you're in my heart. Baby, someday, some place, I'll hold you in my arms.  
  
"What?" She seemed a little offended.  
  
I have a gift for you. Something I've held on to. Waiting for your sweet caress. (Sweet caress.)  
  
"Nice duck tape and crazy glue. My Gosh, you've gotten violent. You thought I would run, eh?" He smiled even wider when she saw her blush.  
  
No ribbon has been untied from all that I hold inside. And only you will possess this heart of innocence.  
  
"You? Run? Never. You'd never be able to run with Pikachu doing thunder strike on you. You'd be too dead to run. Racheal was going to bring out a knife too, but I only let her keep the crazy glue and duck tape." Misty said as he finally let out a laugh.  
  
I lay my head down on a pillow of white. Here in the dark, I am cradled in peace. No loss from yesterday to harm me at night. No tears to dry. No sad memories.  
  
"You think I've gotten violent. You teaching Pikachu the ability to kill is beyond my knowledge. I have nightmares ever since you taught Pikachu that." Well, they were definatly attempting to keep the atmosphere comfortable.  
  
There's a heart to hold and I will safely keep.. The strength that's in my soul until you come to me.  
  
"Pikachu cant kill. Not yet. Do you ever wonder why Cassidy and Butch stay away from us?" He grinned evilly at her.  
  
I have a gift for you. Something I've held on to. Waiting for your sweet caress. No ribbon has been untied from all that I hold inside.  
  
Ash, finally listening to the lyrics to the song realized that it was actually Misty's favorite song.  
  
And only you will possess this heart of innocence..  
  
"Did you choose the last song..?" He asked.  
  
She slowly nodded in response before laying her head on his chest. She inhaled his cologne, immediately becoming intoxicated in it. He could tell she was really tired..Or at least that's what he thought. He decided to get a better grip on her unless she suddenly decided to fall asleep on him.  
  
"Falling asleep on me, Misty?" He smiled softly, allowing a small chuckle to escape his lips.  
  
Every night I make a wish before I fall asleep. (I'll make a wish..) That destiny will take your hand and lead it to me. Ooh!  
  
"Never."  
  
I have a gift for you. Something I've held on to. Waiting for your sweet caress. (You know I'll be waiting here for you.)  
  
He wasn't expecting her to reply that, but he went along with it anyway. He rested his chin on top of her head, enjoying the sweet smell of her hair.  
  
No ribbon has been untied from all that I hold inside. And only you will possess this heart of innocence. Ohhh.. Ohhh...  
  
They both wished they could turn back time over and over again to never let this dance end, but unfortunately, the world is an unfair place to be. The song ended as Ash took a step back from Misty, looking her in the eyes. As if on cue, when he leaned in to kiss her forehead Racheal whispered "I love you.." into the microphone. Misty looked star-struck, as well as most of the girls out of the audience who immediately fell in love with Ash.  
  
"The brat. She doesn't deserve him." Aydee hissed and gave Misty another angry glare which clearly read 'I want you to die and have worms consume your flesh!' Aydee stood behind the black curtain, going unnoticed by the rest of the audience.  
  
Jason looked Aydee over with a grin on his face.  
  
"You know....", Jason began, but was taken aback by how started Aydee became.  
  
"My God! Don't do that! You scared the living crap out of me, Jason!" Aydee snapped, putting her hand to her chest.  
  
"Enough of that. Did you see what just happened? Misty looked like an awestruck teeny-bopper!" Anger and jealousy made itself known in Jason's eyes.  
  
"Well you have to give him credit.. He is much more of a charmer then you." Aydee muttered.  
  
Jason, finally managing to pull his eyes away from Ash and Misty, brought his attention back to Aydee.  
  
"To change the horrible topic, what do you know?" Jason's angry eyes met Aydee's.  
  
"I overheard them talking."  
  
"Ok. I'll ask again, what do you know?" Jason tried to control his temper as he spoke to her.  
  
"They will be staying in a hotel overnight..Bright and early tomorrow they will be going to Darkening City." Aydee equally tried as hard not to punch him right then and there.  
  
"Don't you mean Darken City?"  
  
Aydee shrugged.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Good enough. Let's go..We've got preparations to make. Many, many preparations." Jason laughed one of those ugly laughs that revealed the true evilness behind him.  
  
Aydee rolled her eyes.  
  
"Your such a criminal wannabe."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"So..Misty..It was fun.." Racheal managed to say, holding back her tears.  
  
Misty smiled warmly at her.  
  
"It's far from over, Rach. You seem to have forgotten.. I could have sworn that you asked me to get you a date with Ash..A date you want, a date you shall get."  
  
Racheal laughed, but you could still see the sadness in her eyes.  
  
"You have to go Misty..Back on the road with the future Pokemon Master. The big Pokemon Master has no time for dates."  
  
"What about me?" A familiar voice asked both Misty and Racheal.  
  
"Oh the ego of yours. Bigger then a mountain, honestly."  
  
'I'm still cuter then him.. ' Pikachu said.  
  
"Aww! A Pikachu!" Racheal, not caring whether the Pikachu was as wild as a lion, picked him up and hugged him.  
  
"You are too cute!" Racheal happily cradled Pikachu in her arms.  
  
'Told you..' Pikachu said with a snicker.  
  
Ash shrugged. "At least I'm unique. I don't have hundreds of other yellow electric mouses looking like me.."  
  
"Eh..Ash..So much for Pikachu being a killing pokemon.." Misty said as she looked over how peaceful Pikachu looked lying in Racheal's arms. Racheal immediately gave Misty a look of worry.  
  
"Pikachu won't hurt you..Calm down." Misty laughed nervously, wondering what would happen if Pikachu actually hurt her.  
  
"Tell me about it. What were you going to say when I was being referred to as 'The Pokemon Master'?" Ash ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"Oh! Right..Would you mind if Racheal traveled with us for a couple of weeks? You know, to hang out a while?" Misty asked as her eyes pleaded with his.  
  
Racheal almost dropped Pikachu at what Misty had asked Ash.  
  
"I wouldn't mind.." Brock joined in, with a love sick look on his face as Racheal blushed.  
  
'I don't see what's wrong with it.' Pikachu said softly, almost falling asleep.  
  
"Since I'm obviously out numbered here, I guess I wouldn't mind either...Brock, did you manage to find Nurse Joy..Or Officer Jenny? Hmm? Did they both give you a big kiss on your purdy cheeks." Ash loved teasing Brock so much. It helped him forget about his own problems.  
  
"Shut...up...Ash..."  
  
Misty struggled not to laugh or else Brock would go crazy on Ash as well as her. Racheal seemed a bit confused at what was going on around her, but she didn't seem to mind.  
  
"Okay, Racheal.. First rule. Never ever get involved with their fights. Can you handle it?"  
  
Racheal nodded with a laugh.  
  
"I'll try to."  
  
"And if you won't be able to last that long, take some sleeping pills. They're miracle workers. You fall straight asleep and you can barely hear them screaming and punching eachother. I amaze myself..I've lasted with these two for four years..And you must survive a couple of weeks. I pray for you."  
  
Racheal ducked out of the way or else Brock would have ended up hitting her instead of Ash.  
  
"I pray for me too.." Racheal said quietly and ran over by Misty.  
  
"Just smile and nod, hun. Just smile and nod."  
  
"That's the best advice I've gotten in weeks."  
  
Racheal walked along side Misty as they got a head start towards the nearest hotel. It was far too dark to go to Darken City NOW of all times. It was bad enough in the day.  
  
"Wait! If I catch up with you, Misty, you better say an early prayer!" Ash yelled before he began to run. He was like a cat when it came to speed. No one, and I repeat, no one could ever outrun Ash Ketchum.  
  
'WAIT!' Pikachu yelled and just managed to jump onto Ash's shoulder, hanging on for his dear life.  
  
"And...there they go.." Brock scratched the back of his head as the running figures of Ash, Misty, Pikachu, and Racheal grew smaller and smaller. He knew it'll be nightfall until he actually caught up with them.  
  
"Oh such a long..long walk.." Brock groaned and continued on his mission to be within at least fifty feet of them.  
  
Brock suddenly felt a crawling feeling going through his stomach.. It was either he was about to have a baby, or he really needed to go to the bathroom.  
  
'It still amazes me everyday that they never installed toilets around forests. That's just dandy.' He said, acknowledging the fact that he was around many trees and grass.  
  
'Oh yeah, just a perfect place to put a stadium, if you could find it. That's the tricky part..'  
  
Brock rolled his eyes at the thought.  
  
He tiredly began to run uphill, praying the hotel was close enough so that he could at least see it. His eyes nervously searched for the hotel, but there was nothing but a big sign that stated the nearest hotel was four miles north.  
  
'..Save me.'  
  
  
  
~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~  
  
Yeah! It has been completed! ^^; That wasn't much of a cliffhanger, eh? But I know every single one of you are oh so impatiently awaiting Chapter four! ^^;;; It'll be up in a couple of days..Maybe even tomorrow. ^.^ I can't think of much more to say but thankyoouuu for all of the reviews that encouraged me to continue writing this story. See you all in Chapter 4. ^^ Ciao! 


	4. Bracelet of Faith

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~  
  
Misty stared up at the ceiling as she lay on her bed. She was completely and totally lost in her thought and her memories.  
  
"DAISY! LILY! MISTY!" Violet's small voice echoed throughout the almost completely empty house.  
  
Misty stuck her head out from behind one of the many walls in the house and made herself known. As Misty stood quiet, looking over Violet trying to sense if she was angry or excited. Violet's eyes slowly wondered upon Misty as anger took the place of excitement in just a matter of seconds.  
  
"MISTY! Where are Daisy and Lily?" Violet almost groaned when Misty shook her head silently.  
  
"Upstairs. Use those legs of yours. They come in especially good use when climbing stairs. Especially when you use them to WALK, instead of having people carry you every where. And they're a lot more quiet then that big mouth of yours." Misty hissed.  
  
"Your still angry nobody likes you. That all it is. Your being a spoiled brat, and nobody likes spoiled brats. Especially ugly ones." Violet snapped.  
  
"Don't speak back, Misty.." Lily said sternly, attempting to end the argument.  
  
Misty shot an angry glare at Lily, but obeyed nonetheless.  
  
"Why did you like call us? I was asleep until I heard you screaming for us. I thought the house was on like fire or something.." Daisy said while rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Before Misty got me so like incredibly angry..I had like wonderful news to tell all of you!" Violets eyes fell across Misty.  
  
"Well..the two of you anyway.. Gary like kissed me! My first kiss! " Violet danced around the room happily.  
  
"I've got my first kiss!" She yelled happily, seeming very proud of her little accomplishment, but it seemed like absolutely nothing to Misty.  
  
"I find cows having the ability to get us milk a lot more interesting. Much." Misty said as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"Misty!" Lily hissed.  
  
"Your just like nothing but jealous, Misty..Because you wont ever get kissed by ANY boy..Or anyone, for that matter!"  
  
Misty opened her mouth to say something, but Lily's angry glare kept her from speaking.  
  
Violet, being the oldest was expected to get her first kiss first. Violet was already thirteen. Lily was twelve in a half..And Daisy was twelve. Misty, being the youngest, was only nine years old. Lily seemed to care about Misty the most at the time, and Misty was forever grateful that someone cared about her.  
  
As time passed, Misty finally grew to be eleven. Little by little, every one of her sisters had their first kiss, except for Misty. Misty didn't care so much until she began getting teased for it. Teased so much she'd cry herself to sleep, with Lily the only one to comfort her.  
  
Violet's harsh words, "The day you get your first kiss will be under a blue moon! And a blue moon never comes, Misty. Never", rang through Misty's ears when she was only twelve. Who'd think that those words wouldn't stay with Misty until she got her first kiss were crazy.  
  
The day she got her bike trashed was the best moment of her young life. That was the reason she could leave with Ash and supposed to be angry at him for destroying her bike. He saved her..In more ways then one. He restored her hope that there was someone out there for her.  
  
"I guess my blue moon hasn't come yet..Maybe it just won't.." Misty said out loud to herself, not allowing a tear to fall anywhere beyond her eyelid. She wouldn't let herself cry over something so silly..She wouldn't cry over mean words that came out of an ignorant person's mouth.  
  
Misty knew in her heart that a first kiss would be something that was to be shared with someone you loved. Not just anyone you picked up off the streets..And certainly not some silly crush..And especially not a foolish game of 'spin the bottle.' The emotions had to be there, and then came the kiss.  
  
"What about blue moons?" A familiar voice asked, almost forgetting about his main intentions for coming to talk to her.  
  
"They're should be blue moons..They should appear more often. A lot more. Some people just need a blue moon every once in a while." Misty sighed, sitting up from her bed. He slowly made his way closer to her, sitting down.  
  
"Misty.. As much as I'd hate to tell you this, but, as far as I know, there is no such thing as a blue moon."  
  
"I know, Ash... I know.." She lowered her head to the ground.  
  
He wished he hadn't said that..He seemed to make her even sadder over her sudden craze over blue moons.  
  
"Any re..regrets? You know you didn't have to pick me because I'm....." Ash tried to explain nervously, before he was cut off.  
  
"No, no.. I wouldn't feel comfortable dancing to that song without anyone else. I like that song too much to just waste the moment by dancing with someone I barely knew. It was scary enough dancing with Jason."  
  
"Didn't seem like it.." Ash mumbled quietly. Unfortunately, not quietly enough.  
  
"Oh Goodness.. Is the famous Pokemon Master jealous? And I thought I would never see the day." Misty dramatically fanned herself with her hand.  
  
"I think I am going to faint.."  
  
He rolled his eyes.  
  
"It wasn't jealousy, Mist. It was pure hate. I don't trust him.."  
  
"That's original." Sarcasm filled her voice. She loved seeing him angry over something so minor. She was loving every second of it. It helped her forget about waiting for her blue moon.  
  
He yawned and stretched his arms in the air.  
  
"Lets let it stay original. I'll think of another reason when I don't have that much of headache tomorrow."  
  
He looked around the room one more time. They managed to get two rooms with one bed in each and one bathroom. It seemed cheaper then getting one room with a television, two double beds, and two bathrooms.  
  
"Ash, Just out of pure curiosity..Where did you get the money to pay for the rooms?"  
  
He gave her a mischievous look.  
  
She looked confused before an idea hit her.  
  
"How could you do that? A better question, didn't you know you can't do that?"  
  
He pulled Brock's credit card out of his jean pants and waved it in front of her face.  
  
"I just did, Mist. And I'll do it again if Brock continues to walk so slowly..Chances are he probably ended up walking backwards right back to stadium."  
  
She raised her eyebrows at him.  
  
"You know..I think your right, for once in your lifetime."  
  
"ONCE?! That hurt, Mist. That hurt badly." He put his hand by his heart for effect. "Ouch."  
  
"Right. Are you positive you didn't see him..or any human form for that matter, walking towards the hotel? Maybe you should check." She suggested.  
  
"Mhm.." Ash stood up and walked towards the glass door, sliding it open. He stood out on the balcony, looking down at the streets below. He saw a dark human figure running frantically towards the hotel, as if someone was chasing him..Or something.  
  
"Yeah.. I see him.. I think. He's actually running..Either he really has to go to the bathroom or something is chasing him..Something scary enough to make even HIM run.." Ash called over his shoulder to Misty.  
  
"My vote goes to him having to go to the bathroom." Misty said as she lied herself back onto the bed.  
  
"Me too. There's nothing chasing him. Or at least I think there's nothing chasing him. I think I'll go meet him in the lobby.."  
  
"Wait! I'll go. Your the one with his credit card. He'll kill you with a toothpick if your the first one he sees." Misty stood up from the bed tiredly, walking towards the door.  
  
"Oh, my hero. He probably doesn't even know I still have it." Ash  
  
"And if he finds out you do have it, which he probably already knows at the rate he's running, I can do nothing but shudder to imagine what he will do to you.. I have nightmares to this day at what he did to me when I took his credit card. " She shivered for effect as she unwillingly got up from the bed and slowly walked towards the door.  
  
Misty suddenly jumped back about five feet when the door swung open in front of her.  
  
"BROCK! HOW DOES KNOCKING SOUND TO YOU?!" Misty screamed at him, holding on to her chest.. Ash immediately turned around when he heard Misty yelling. His muscles relaxed when he saw it was just Brock....JUST BROCK?!  
  
"Ooh my sore muscles.." Misty let herself fall back in the chair, not even noticing Brock dropped his backpack quickly, and ran towards the bathroom. Misty was in too much pain to notice he was just about to walk in on.......  
  
Racheal screamed.  
  
Ash quietly sneaked his way towards Brock's backpack and slipped the credit card back in there.  
  
"And a big thank you to Brock's digestive system." Ash said, almost below a whisper with a small chuckle. He put his hand back in his pocket and pulled out a silver charm bracelet.  
  
Misty slowly got up off the chair, struggling to walk as her muscles screamed in pain, wanting nothing but to rest.  
  
"BROCK! STOP STARING AT HER AND CLOSE THE DOOR! I FIGURED YOU MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN THE HINT THAT SHE WAS TAKING A SHOWER BY NOW!" Misty yelled.  
  
"Ooh.. oh! Right!" Apologies flew out of Brock's mouth towards Racheal as she attempted to cover herself up.  
  
Brock ran up to Ash quickly, holding on to his stomach.  
  
"219." Ash said the name of the room number, already knowing what Brock was going to ask him.  
  
Misty allowed herself to fall back on the bed with a huge sigh.  
  
"Sorry, Rach.." Misty yelled, waiting for a reply.  
  
"I'm okay, I'm okay." She replied with a small laugh.  
  
Misty smiled.  
  
'Well, at least someone around here still as their sanity.' Misty thought to herself.  
  
"Misty?" Ash asked, holding the charm bracelet in his hand tightly.  
  
"Hmm..?" Her voice hinted that she was tired and wanted nothing but sleep.  
  
"Remember when we were twelve..And when we first started out, my Mom gave me her bracelet..The charm bracelet."  
  
"Sure..Why?"  
  
"Before we left she told me in secret that the charm bracelet had magic to it. She told me that whoever I gave it to, they would trust me and we would remain together forever...And at first I didn't believe her, but It's true. I believed in it when she gave it to me."  
  
"That's really sweet..."  
  
"I'm not finished yet."  
  
"Continue on, Pokemon Master. I apologize for the interruption."  
  
He rolled his eyes at her before speaking.  
  
"Well..I would really like it if you kept it with you from now on..Until you find someone you would like to give it to.."  
  
She sat up from the bed immediately, ignoring how her muscles screamed in pain.  
  
"Ash..I couldn't take that. It's between you and your mother..It's practically sacred. And even If I did take it, I would never give it to anyone..Never."  
  
"Your saying you don't want to be my best friend anymore?" He gave her sad puppy eyes, pleading with her to take the charm bracelet.  
  
"...Your serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Dead serious."  
  
"And this is not a joke..?"  
  
"Was the bike a joke? I forgave you with that..But if you threw this bracelet into a river, it would take me a very, very long time to forgive you."  
  
She looked deeply into his eyes, searching for any signs that he wasn't going to pull the bracelet away the minute she held her hand out to take it. All she found in his meaningful eyes was nothing but sincerity.  
  
"And if you don't take it now, you know I will continue to bother you until you wear it."  
  
"I'll protect it with my life."  
  
He smiled thankfully at her words and attached the charm bracelet around her wrist.  
  
"Thank you." She whispered as he leaned in to hug her warmly. She hugged him back, closing her eyes and savoring the moment of being this close to him.  
  
"Awww.. What a kodac moment.." Racheal stood, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel.  
  
Ash reluctantly pulled away.  
  
"So, Rach..You know where the nearest river is?" Misty joked.  
  
"Don't try me, Misty.." Ash said, and almost seemed angry.  
  
"Bracelet goes down the river, I go right after it?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Racheal looked at them for a second before shaking her head.  
  
"I think I've been confused today once too many times." Racheal sighed and walked back into the heated bathroom to change into cloths.  
  
"This time I'm LOCKING the door!" She yelled through the door.  
  
"Then I'll be sure to give Brock a key next time." Misty said teasingly as she laid back on the bed.  
  
Ash looked her over quickly before standing up.  
  
"See you in the morning, Mist." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.  
  
"I really do mean it when I say I will protect it with my life..You do know that, right?" She said as she looked over how as if the bracelet was made to fit on her wrist.  
  
"I believe you. Just remember, I'm not giving it to as a gift." He said with a warning tone to his voice.  
  
"Then...how come?"  
  
"Because you were meant to have it.. See you in the morning, Mist.."  
  
"See you. "  
  
He left the room and she suddenly felt like a piece of her was missing..And she wanted to get it back. Like she needed to get it back.. That piece of her heart was Ash..But It would be only time before she discovers that truth.  
  
  
  
***  
  
'How did it go?' Pikachu asked.  
  
"I thought you were asleep." Ash looked around the room. "And where's Brock?" Hearing the toilet flush was the answer to his question.  
  
'Back to my question, how did it go? Did you sweat and, gasp, loose your freakishly large amount of confidence and charm?' Pikachu scratched the back of his neck.  
  
"Actually, I didn't. It went quite smoothly. She actually looked more nervous then me..And in more pain."  
  
'Are we talking about the same thing?' Pikachu asked with a sly grin on his face.  
  
"Yes..And I bet you would have me carry you around for days if your muscles hurt as bad as hers doing all that dancing. You would figure that after all she put into it and all that practice, she'd feel more active then ever. Meanwhile, she's in there probably sleeping like a baby by now."  
  
"Thats it?" Pikachu seemed a little stunned.  
  
"And you were expecting what..? You know what, don't even answer that. I'll probably fall asleep on you anyway. Better spread out as much as you can. I'm not going to sleep in the same bed as Brock. Maybe he'll sleep on the floor and not wake us up to tell us to move over," Ash paused, "If Misty sees me and Brock sleeping on the same bed, she could begin to assume crazy things, take pictures, and use it as bribery. Quite a scary thought if you ask me."  
  
Pikachu rolled his eyes.  
  
'Not as scary as what I think went on in there. Why did I hear a scream?' Pikachu began to cover himself with the bed sheets, slowly closing his eyes.  
  
"Brock walked in on Racheal while she was taking a bath." Ash grinned as he recalled the memory.  
  
"You should have seen his face. I wouldn't be surprised if his head turned into an apple or something...I swear if......" Ash finally noticed Pikachu was asleep.  
  
"Goodnight, Pikachu.." He said with a soft smile on his face, as he too crawled into bed, without disturbing Pikachu.  
  
"Eh..Goodnight Brock.." He looked towards the bathroom and shrugged. He was too tired to wonder if Brock was going to fall asleep on the toilet. He settled his head onto the pillow, quickly falling into a deep sleep.  
  
Ash felt fear clutch at his heart as the piercing scream reflected off the walls. He ran towards the direction he believed the scream was coming from. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he ran. He ran as hard as his body would allow him to. Although his legs screamed for him to stop, he was far from listening to them.  
  
He left as if he were in a maze, looking in every direction frantically. As soon as he heard her scream again, he took off immediately. He almost made it seem as if he didn't want to know whose scream that was..But he knew.. He heard an evil, yet amused laughter announce itself after every scream.  
  
'No, not Giovanni. Not this time.' He thought. It was someone else. The scream was filled with pain and tears as it made itself known one last time. That last scream was enough to point Ash in the right direction.  
  
He ran harder and faster then anytime in his life down the long hallway. It seemed to last forever before he slowly came to stop. The sight he saw made him feel a million emotions all at once. Tears began to fill his eyes as he attempted to beat down the glass wall keeping him from saving the girl he not only loved, but lived for.  
  
He punched the glass wall with all the strength in his body as he watched the girl slowly open her eyes. She seemed to be tied to a chair with cuts, rope burns, and black and blues covering her body. What seemed to cover her body most of all was blood and tears. There stood next to her Jason. Evil glowed in his eyes as he slid the knife out from his jean pants.  
  
Ash screamed for him to not do it.  
  
"MISTY!"  
  
He looked down at his own hands which were now already bloody and beaten. He continued to beat against the glass wall, despite the pain. Misty slowly turned to look at Ash.  
  
"Ash....." She barely managed to whisper. She finally closed her eyes as Jason pulled the bracelet off of her delicate hand. He held it in his hands, looking at it carefully. Most of it seemed to be covered in blood. Jason shook his head in disgust before hurling it towards the ground. It shattered into millions of tiny pieces.  
  
"I'm so..sorry..." Were her last words.  
  
Fear and anger took over his body and soul as Jason lifted the knife and thrust it into her chest, her blood spilling everywhere, and the satisfied look on Jason's face. Jason looked at Ash's torn face and did nothing but laugh with satisfactory in his tone. Ash could not speak.  
  
Ash sat up from the bed as quickly as he could. Sweat covered him from head to toe. He felt his forehead as his hands were still shaking with pure fear and anger. His eyes slowly wondered to the clock. It read 4:30AM as he slowly began to realize it was all one hell of a nightmare. He felt that his eyes were wet..Which meant he was crying. He quickly wiped away the tears as he stood up from the bed.  
  
"I think I need some air.." He shook his head in attempt to be rid of the scenes of the nightmare that ran through his mind.  
  
"So much for even THINKING about trusting Jason. Right. Someone who believed that pigs could fly would still be somewhat in their right mind not to trust Jason." He mumbled, stopping for a drink of water on his way.  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~  
  
Woo.. That seemed like an interesting chapter.. ^-^ Dont worry, next chapter will be more interesting.. I'll try my best! Like I said, be gentle with reviews. ^^; -cant think of anything more to say- ..Oh well.. See you guys in Chapter Five. I'm sure every single one of you will miss me. lmao, bai! 


	5. Night Scares

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~  
  
Ash let out a deep sigh and allowed the cool wind attempt to dry off his sweat. He had the strangest feeling Misty wasn't asleep. Like she was up partying or something. He leaned over the balcony railing, and sure enough he could see lights on in Misty and Racheal's room. He grinned as an evil thought crossed his mind.  
  
Using the stairs from the fire escapes, he slowly made his way to Racheal and Misty's balcony. As he crossed, he attempted to be as quiet as possible. If someone spotted him on THEIR balcony, he would either be thrown off, shot at, etc. All because he would be suspected of being a burglar. The possibilities sent a light chill up his spine.  
  
"Cant..Look..Down..." He cleared his throat and was silently thankful he made it across without imagining himself falling..Or looking down. Misty's room was only a couple of balconies away, so It wasn't that much of trip.  
  
"Oh the things I do for the simple enjoyment of scaring the living crap out of Misty." He shook his head in amazement.  
  
The short sight of Misty being murdered in his nightmare ran through his head. Seeing Misty alive and well right now would be the best possible thing for him.  
  
Ash got himself seated on the cold ground of the balcony, watching Racheal and Misty happily talking about simple things. What their favorites were, how it is having siblings, boys and more. He enjoyed seeing Misty so happy with someone to finally talk to that's been through most of the things she's been through.  
  
He quietly slid open the glass door about an inch so he could hear them talking better.  
  
"Misty..What was your first kiss like? Interesting much? Is Ash really a good kisser?" Racheal asked, giggling.  
  
'Not the forbidden question..' Misty thought to herself as her eyes looked towards the ground, as if looking for an answer.  
  
"Well...I never.....It never..Well....I didn't....He doesn't...." Misty searched in her mind some kind of explanation. She wouldn't lie.  
  
"You..never got a first kiss?" Racheal smiled comfortingly at her.  
  
Ash grinned. Of course he felt bad for her, but he thought that sometime along their teenage life she had at least gotten a peck on the lips.  
  
"No. I never had my first kiss. " Misty sighed as she looked up and met Racheal's eyes, searching them for any sign that she was going to break down laughing any second.  
  
"It's just that I dont want to kiss just anybody.. I want it to be someone that I love..And he loves me..And just perfect. But I was cursed by my sisters." Misty explained nervously.  
  
"Cursed? They witches, Mist? Want me to make a couple of voodoo dolls? I bet it'll be fun throwing them against walls, even if it doesn't actually do much in reality."  
  
Misty rolled her eyes.  
  
"You don't understand.. They told me... The day I get my first kiss, it would be under a blue moon.. And even Ash said so himself, that a blue moon never comes. In conclusion of this sad memory, I will remain unkissed for the rest of my sad life. The end."  
  
Racheal sighed, running a hand tiredly through her hair.  
  
"And you believed them?"  
  
"Sure I did! I've waited..and nothing ever....."  
  
"You never tried. And do you have any idea how long I was wondering if Ash was a good kisser?" A curious smile tugged at Racheal's lips.  
  
"And hey, you never know. Maybe you'll meet that guy who wants to paint the moon blue just for you. Wouldn't that be awesome?"  
  
"Wouldn't that be humanly impossible?"  
  
"Work your imagination with me here, Mist."  
  
Ash's mouth hung open.  
  
'So that was her sudden craze over blue moons..I wonder how long it would take to paint the moon blue..She would probably like it that way..But then she also needs a guy to kiss her..Like Jason..' He thought as he shuddered at just the mention of his name.  
  
'Or a guy like...Me..I'll kiss her before Jason can ever dream of being five feet within her. I will. I will do her a favor the way a best friend should. Yeah. Best friend. Right. And if she pushes me away and threatens to kill me, I guess I'll just hold a grudge against her for a couple of weeks and claim I was a little drunk. Not that hard.'  
  
He tuned himself back into listening to their conversation.  
  
"Who are you expecting the guy to be? Don't tell me its like one of those blonde-haired guys that to pretend to be a prince and own a unicorn. In other words, Jason." Racheal narrowed her eyes at Misty.  
  
'By gosh, I think someone is agreeing with me.' Ash thought to himself before Misty began speaking.  
  
"Lord, no. I'd rather have my first kiss with my psyduck then with him. He's cute and everything.. But I've seen wild pokemon nicer then him..And with better personalities..."  
  
Ash had to use all of his control to not allow himself to run around the balcony dancing.  
  
'So she does have something in that red head of hers. Oh so many discoveries.' He grinned.  
  
"True, True."  
  
"So..Rach...What are your thoughts on Brock? Like him?"  
  
'No no! Don't change subject now, Mist!' Ash thought angrily in his mind.  
  
"Well..I'm sure he likes me after running into me like that. And I'm not exactly crazy over Ash either. Not after that look you gave me when I told you I would appreciate a small tiny date with him.." Racheal grinned, knowing she just triggered a fight.  
  
Ash listened in more closely at the mention of his name...and..what date?!  
  
"What look?" Misty attempted to seem innocent.  
  
"That 'I will kill you with a spoon if you go ten feet within him, but I'm trying to be nice anyway' look." Racheal almost broke out laughing at Misty's reaction, but Misty soon grew calm as a relaxed smile made its way across her face.  
  
"He's like a brother to me.. That's why Rach..I just don't want to see him with broken hearts and stuff..So yeah, I'm a tad bit overprotective."  
  
"..Just a.. brother?" Ash quietly whispered, but continued to go unnoticed.  
  
"So you dont trust me?" Racheal couldn't help but smile as she raised her eyebrow at her, attempting to be serious as she accused Misty of something they both knew wasn't true.  
  
"Oh no! I trust you! It's just that just incase things don't work out..You know? And lets say he really likes you, but you dont like his personality or something.. And well, you dont like him as much anymore..And he gets hurt and feels really bad..And is really sad.. Oh! I rhymed!"  
  
Racheal rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation.  
  
"Denying anything when you know your lying won't get you anywhere. It'll just make it more obvious to me and your true feelings."  
  
"You think I don't trust you?" Misty knew it was a cheap shot at trying to keep the subject far off of Ash.  
  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Mist." Racheal got up from her sitting position and was about to walk towards the bed when she saw Ash sitting out of the balcony, looking content.  
  
"Heh.." Ash waved at her before she began pointing at the window frantically, not being able to speak. Misty looked up at Racheal and shook her head.  
  
"Is that a pathetic way of making fun of my fear of bug pokemon or som........." Misty stopped speaking as her eyes locked on what Racheal was staring at.  
  
"Truly nice weather out here." Ash said, waving again.  
  
She couldn't recognize Ash through the darkness and automatically assumed it was a crazy thief as fear ran over her body. With shaky hands, she reached over to her pokeballs.  
  
"Sta...Staryu...GO!" Misty stuttered, almost forgetting the name of her own Pokemon.  
  
Ash stood up immediately and opened the glass door, supposedly thinking that if he stood in the light she would recognize him. Wrong.  
  
"ICE MIST! NOW!" Staryu sent a freezing deep mist of ice cold water attacking Ash.  
  
"WAIT!" Ash yelled before he felt his body go numb.  
  
"So..so.. much..for it..it being nice...wea...weather.." Ash managed to say through his chattering teeth.  
  
Racheal looked at Misty in shock.  
  
"Never heard of that attack before.." Racheal mumbled, still being half afraid and half amazed.  
  
"I taught it to Staryu about a month ago. Ash is not the only one teaching deadly attacks....."  
  
Misty and Racheal turned to look at eachother for a short moment before realizing who Misty had almost frozen to death.  
  
"ASH?!" They both yelled in unison.  
  
"Staryu..Eh..return.." Misty felt a fight about to come on.  
  
They both had to carry Ash inside and lie him on the bed since he was practically paralyzed.  
  
"If...only..Pik...Pikachu...were...here.....Star..Staryu...would..be...decor ations...on...a..christ..christmas tree...right..now..." Ash hissed.  
  
"It's not Christmas." Misty snapped as she got more steaming wet towels to pat on Ash, attempting to keep him warm. The warmer he felt, the quicker he would regain sense in his bones and skin.  
  
She felt his angry glare and wasn't in the mood to argue with him.  
  
"Why..oh..why...must you...attack...before..you..even know...who..your....attacking? It's...a..well...known..rule.. to..know...who you...are.. attacking!!"  
  
"Your a spy. A big nosy spy. And if you lived a century ago you would have been hanged for being so incredibly nosy. HANGED! Why were you out there? Attempting to be a pervert, Mr. Ketchum?" Misty yelled, not giving Racheal the chance to yell at him.  
  
"I'd...go...other...pl..places if I..wanted to..to be a...pervert..I just wanted...to..to sc..scare you..a little... I..couldn't sleep.."  
  
"So that gives you the right to scare ME and MISTY half to friggin death?! You know, you deserved having your body numb to the point you could barely speak. You deserved EVERY little ounce of coldness you felt!" Racheal snapped at him as she let herself collapse on the chair, holding her hand to her chest, before continuing speaking.  
  
"Twice in a row today I nearly had a heart attack, Ash! TWICE! It's beyond my knowledge how Misty isn't long gone and buried from how many times you must have scared her! If I don't live through these couple of weeks with you, I will come back to haunt you. I WILL!" Racheal sighed, finally ending her lecture.  
  
Ash didn't know if Misty was more angry at the fact that he was attempting to scare her and spying on her, or that she wasn't getting rid of the numbness. Either way she was frustrated. She tried to be gentle as she pat the hot wet cloth on his forehead, but you could still see anger in her eyes. He would have yelled more at her, but he knew she and Racheal were partly right. Misty wouldn't have said a word to him if she'd only known what kind of a nightmare he had gotten..And how badly he needed to see her alive. And how badly he simply just needed to see her.  
  
"I will get you back for this, Ash Ketchum. You will pay." Misty said mischievously.  
  
"No, Mist. WE will get him back for this. You keep on healing the frozen boy while I think of a plan. I've got one forming in my evil little brain already." Racheal replied with a mischievous smile on her face, almost scaring Ash.  
  
"Come on... I...didnt..mean to.." Now he'd done it. Well, at least his teeth's chattering had slowed down.  
  
"Oh..I'm sorry. I guess we should just completely forget about it then. All since you didn't mean to. How could you not mean to? Were you possessed by Satan and didn't mean to? Would it work if I told you I was being possessed by Satan to freeze you half to death again? Maybe." Misty said in a tone where she was neither happy, nor angry.  
  
"I'm sorry and I will try to think out my actions before doing them." He mumbled like an angry eight year old who'd just got scolded by his mother for spilling chocolate milk everywhere. He figured he would never win this fight anyway, unless he told Misty about his nightmare.  
  
"Hey, Mist.." An evil smile was slowly making its way across Racheal's face.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Ash, would you like to go on a date..? You know, to the movies or something?" Racheal waited for a response, and for Misty to give her that jealous look.  
  
Misty lowered her head to the ground and bit on her bottom lip roughly, preventing her from speaking.  
  
"Do you really think this is the best time to ask me on a date? Honestly. The only thing I go do right now is speak. What were you planning? A dinner for two beside a BED? We can scrape the snow off of me and make snow cones together. Great." After Ash said that, he slowly began to understand why Racheal kept on giving him an angry glare.  
  
"Uh.. I mean..Yeah..How romantic...I can't...uh..wait?" Ash said, almost unsure of himself, poorly attempting to make up for what he said the first time.  
  
"Look at me, Misty. Pick up your head, hun. You can do it." Racheal and Ash both waited to see Misty's jealous face as she slowly looked up. By some higher power, she managed to get a somewhat decent smile on her face. But the blazing fire in her eyes towards Racheal made you completely forget about the smile.  
  
"Fun." She muttered.  
  
Racheal cracked up at the expression on Misty's face.  
  
"I'm sorry. I couldn't let that opportunity pass me by, Mist. But, oh God, did you see her face?!"  
  
Ash shrugged.  
  
"I kind of couldn't, since she was looking at you and very interesting carpet..."  
  
"Aww you missed it..Well, she kind of looked like you did when you were watching her dance with Jason. You two were made for eachother. I don't see why I never saw it before." Racheal looked bewildered for a second before giggling.  
  
Misty blushed, trying to ignore Racheal and seem more interested in the warm towel she was holding. Ash tried to make eye contact with her, but she wouldn't allow it.  
  
In only a couple of minutes, Racheal had fallen into a deep sleep, spread out all on the floor. Every time Misty would get up to get more warm towels, she'd have to be extra careful not to step on Racheal.  
  
"You don't have to do this, Mist. Well yeah, you sort of have to, but it was still half of my fault.." He whispered.  
  
"No. It was all of your fault." She still wouldn't make eye contact with him.  
  
He sighed exhaustedly, wanting to run a hand through his hair, but he couldn't.  
  
"Fine. It was all my fault. Feeling better?"  
  
"I've never been more happy in my life." She made sure he heard the sarcasm in her voice.  
  
"I'm sorry. And I think I'm gaining sense in my legs and arms..Finally. Thank you."  
  
"Too bad you can't gain some sense in your brain." She said tiredly, trying to keep her eyes open.  
  
"Forgive me, please?"  
  
"I did. It doesn't mean I can't still be angry."  
  
He hated when she was angry at him..He hated the feeling he got knowing that she couldn't stand him.  
  
"Honestly, Ash..Why were you out there?" She asked after the short pause of silence.  
  
"I told you. I couldn't sleep..and I saw your lights were on, so I kind of just felt like giving you guys a small scare." He shrugged again.  
  
"A small scare? I could barely remember what Staryu's NAME was. Let alone a gentle attack."  
  
"I figured you wouldn't do a small attack. Maybe something simple like water gun, but noo.. You just have to go straight to trying to kill me, right?"  
  
"Obviously. You better uhm..Get some rest so you'll be able to walk tomorrow. I'm not in the mood for carrying you back into your own room." She yawned, and stretched out her tired muscles.  
  
Misty needed a bed for her aching muscles, and unfortunately...Ash was on it. She could have just made him march back into his own bed, but she didn't have the heart for that. Or the energy.  
  
"Fine..I'm in too much pain to care if I'm even sleeping next to an icicle..Ugh.." She said tiredly, trying to move him over enough so she could have at least half of her body lying on the bed.  
  
"Oh how well you can make a person feel at home, Mist."  
  
"You just had to go and get extra dessert for dinner, didn't you?" She said with struggle in her voice.  
  
Part of her just wanted to stop and just stare at him while he slept all night..But her muscles would not allow a second of it. When she was satisfied at how much room she had left to sleep, she lied herself down on the bed, leaving most of the room for Ash.  
  
"Night, Ash." She yawned.  
  
"Goodnight, Mist." He mumbled tiredly.  
  
Before closing her eyes, she attempted to tell what time it was. "5:00AM" It read. She could have sworn it was laughing at her tired face.  
  
"Laugh today..Be trash tomorrow." Misty mumbled, remembering to feel Ash's forehead to make sure he wasn't as cold as before. Looking over his face one last time, she finally settled herself into a deep peaceful sleep.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Dark clouds slowly made their presence known as every minute passed, shielding the sun from making light in the dark room.. Thunder roared as lightening lit up the sky and the faces of the people occupying the room. Pikachu's eyes slowly opened as he stretched himself out and yawned, expecting to hear Ash to do the same. Nothing. Pikachu slowly sat up and looked around the room.  
  
'Ash..? Eh..Probably in the bathroom or by Misty. What's with the bathroom lately?' Pikachu said to no one in particular.  
  
Pikachu's eyes wondered around the room and found Brock lightly snoring, sleeping on the floor. No one except for Pikachu had gotten enough rest that night.. Well maybe Brock also. Pikachu groaned when he saw the weather outside. They couldn't go anywhere today. It would be too dark in Darken City to go there now with all of the dark clouds..And the storm didn't seem like it would be going anywhere soon. They'd have to stay in the hotel for one more night. Pikachu fell back onto the bed with a big sigh.  
  
'Misty won't ever hear the end of it.' Pikachu said quietly before falling back asleep.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Ash felt a flash against his face..Not lightening, more like a camera. He woke up and saw Racheal asleep on the floor, so he figured it was the lightening outside. He was half happy when morning came..But too bad the other half of him was extremely angry when he saw the horrible weather conditions outside.  
  
"Unbelievable." He groaned, sitting up to get a better look outside the balcony through the glass door. His eyes wondered towards the clock.  
  
"12:30PM?! How did I sleep that long?! How is it humanly possible to sleep that long?! It'll be dark in Darken City in about two hours! ..Augh..Not like we can go anywhere with this weather.. Just my luck! Stupid luck." He yelled, making Misty almost want to wake up.  
  
"Shut..up.." Misty tiredly pulled a pillow over head in an attempt to block out Ash's whining.  
  
"Aww..Your such a sweety this morning." Ash said in a girlish voice and smiled down at her. The smile phaded away as he looked around the room, trying to find a path where he could leave the room without having to jump all over Misty and step on Racheal a couple of times.  
  
"Please forgive me if I fall on you.." He whispered.  
  
"That's difficult to do this early in the morning.." Misty muttered, being half asleep.  
  
"All right...Here we go..."  
  
The storm silenced, as if it were also watching Ash attempt to climb over Misty. He slowly placed his leg over Misty's legs...And then his other leg.  
  
"I never knew you were so flexible."  
  
He was startled when Racheal spoke, and accidentally fell onto the hard ground, bringing Misty with him as well as a large 'thump' noise followed their fall. She fell directly on top of him and was just as startled as him. Racheal took out her camera and took yet another picture of the both of them lying on eachother.  
  
"Racheal!....ASH! I don't know about you, but this must be the mother of wake-up calls!" Misty almost groaned, trying to get herself back on the bed to rest.  
  
"I was trying to not wake you up! I swear it! Racheal scared the crap out of me cause I thought she was asleep!" Ash explained nervously as he rolled off of Misty and stood up faster then he had ever did in his life. Misty just stood there dumbfounded for a couple of seconds.  
  
"Why are you holding a camera? Why were you taking pictures? No offense, but your beginning to scare me." Ash faced Racheal, hoping for a reasonable answer.  
  
"You'll see." She giggled.  
  
"And then both of you will thank me very, very much." She added. It wasn't a reasonable answer enough for Ash, but he was too tired to argue with her.  
  
"...What just happened? You know what, don't even tell me. I don't want to know. I don't need to know. Let's just leave it at that and pretend nothing ever happened and that I never trashed that camera."  
  
"But you never did trash the........" Racheal stopped speaking as Misty and Ash turned towards Racheal, taking small steps closer to her with mischievous looks on their faces.. She slowly backed away in fear.  
  
"Eh.. How about breakfast? Ash? Remember your dear friend named 'food'?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her in response.  
  
"Hmm..Misty...OH MY GOD! IT'S TEAM ROCKET! ON THE BALCONY! THEY'VE CAPTURED PIKACHU!" Racheal tried the oldest trick in the book, and surprisingly enough, it worked. She took her escape route right out the door as Misty and Ash spun around to find no one there. By the time they realized what Racheal had done, they were too tired to chase her around the huge hotel.  
  
"Stupid..Stupid..Stupid..." Misty mumbled before tiredly walking back to the bed and finally noticing the weather.  
  
"Yes, we're going to stay here for one more night... It's too late to go to Darken City anyway.. And I need to see if they can let us extend our time for staying here." Ash answered her question before she even asked it.  
  
"I'm sorry." She muttered.  
  
"You can't control weather."  
  
"No, we would have been there yesterday..If I didn't make you go to the concert." She ran her hand through her hair tiredly, turning away from the view of the dark clouds and rain pounding against the glass sliding door.  
  
"Probably. But I liked the concert more. It was worth it, Mist."  
  
She didn't know how to take that. Did he mean it like he liked the concert itself..? Or did he just like dancing with her up on the stage?  
  
"Thanks. Better go get the extension."  
  
"Right." He walked swiftly out the door, silently thanking Misty he could feel his bones and skin again. His eyes were locked on the ground as he walked, full of thoughts and questions. One of the biggest questions that ran through his mind was 'What just happened?'. He figured that Racheal went to go hide out in Brock's room..And Pikachu was probably worried about him by now, so he made sure he paid them a visit.  
  
He almost stopped thinking when he felt himself run into someone else. Someone else with a chest about as strong as steel to knock him clear off his feet.  
  
He looked up to see who it was before deciding on apologizing. He couldn't believe his eyes..He didn't want to believe them. He could feel his own heart beating rapidly. The fire holding the anger in Ash's eyes was very evident as images of his nightmare flashed through his head.. He wanted nothing more then to beat the man who stood before him with no mercy.  
  
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Yey! Chapter five complete! ^^ Can't think of more to say.. soo err.. I hope the cliffhanger was interesting.. o.O; Ok. I will go work on chapter six now. ^^ Bai! 


	6. Tempers Flare

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
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"Watch it next time. You look familiar..Your the boy Misty danced with, arent you?" Jason asked, not even suggesting to himself to offer his hand to raise Ash off the ground.  
  
"You think?" Ash gave him an angry glare and got himself up off the ground.  
  
"Oh great!", Jason spoke not even noticing the anger in Ash's eyes, "So, I guess you would know what room she was staying in?"  
  
"As a matter of fact I do. You go down to the lobby, and now listen carefully, this is where it gets tricky...." Ash had a smile twitching at his lips as Jason listened with interest.  
  
"Now your in the lobby.. And you move to your right until you pass by a door that says 'Exit' in big red letters. And then go take a nap and maybe you'll find her in your dreams." Ash smiled at him annoyingly.  
  
"By the way, it may take a while to find her in that small marble you call a brain..You might want to take loads of sleeping pills. Good luck." Ash patted his shoulder before passing his shocked and angry face to the lobby to get his extention on the rooms.  
  
"How RUDE! If I have to deal with people like that, I'll just have to find Misty on my own.." He shook his head in amazement.  
  
The anger disappeared from his eyes when he saw Racheal coming out of Brock's room.  
  
"Racheal!" He yelled, running down the hall towards her.  
  
"Um. Jason! Hi! Why are you here?" She forced a half decent smile on her lips.  
  
Jason ignored her question.  
  
"What room is Misty staying in?"  
  
"Okay, I'll try again. Why are you here? How did you even know we were here?" The 'smile' was gone.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
She held the urge not to slap him from his ignorance.  
  
"I'll be staying with Misty for a couple of weeks. Back to my question. Why are you here?"  
  
He wondered to himself if he should tell her or not. He decided on lying...He usually does.  
  
"Just need to talk to Misty..About the next season's dance..That's all. Seriously, all of you act like I'm some kind of criminal."  
  
"You have three minutes to talk with her. No more, Satin. And then leave us alone. Or else I will notify the police about you..."  
  
"I'm not affraid of cops. And you don't have the guts for that either..Besides, you wouldn't want Misty to know about your little secret, now would you? And it would be quite terrifying on your part if the police found out as well."  
  
"That's in the past. And like me, you wouldn't have the guts." Fear fell over her eyes as she spoke nervously, trying to show some courage.  
  
"Try me." He grinned.  
  
"You have three minutes to talk to her. Room 209.."  
  
"Thank you, doll." He grinned and went to find the room. Racheal allowd herself to lean against the wall tiredly.  
  
"Save me." She mumbled.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"I can't give you the extension. I need money for that..No money, no extention.." The man calmly tried to explain.  
  
"But I used it last night! Don't you keep records or anything?" Ash rested his head on his arms, leaning against the counter, allowing a soft groan to escape his lips.  
  
"I believe that is illegal."  
  
Ash sighed exhaustedly, trying to figure out how he was going to get Brock's credit card back.  
  
"Never should have returned the stupid thing.." He muttered.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Nevermind.. I'll be back in a little while..Save the rooms, okay?"  
  
"Right."  
  
Ash stepped into the elevator, barely noticing the girl who was also occupying the elevator.  
  
"Ash..Ketchum?" She spoke innocently, but it was far too obvious that it was just a cover-up.  
  
"..Yes? As far as I know, that's me." He looked up to face her. Time seemed to move by slowly as his eyes met hers. Her eyes were aqua, as well as Misty's..But Misty's eyes seemed so much more..natural and real. Her face seemed to have about an inch thick of make-up on it. The make-up almost made her skin seem as pure and white as Misty's, but that didn't seem real to him either. Her voice, being high-pitched and squeeky probably annoyed him the most.  
  
"I knew you looked familiar..Your Misty's friend, right? I was one of her back-up dancers, since your probably wondering how I know you." She giggled, making him want to cringe.  
  
"I'm her best friend. And I still am wondering how you know me, other then the fact that I've been on television.. It doesn't seem like Misty to mention me to her friends." He ran his hand through his hair tiredly.  
  
"Oh! I heard about you through Misty's friend..err..Racheal. I was supposed to play the star of the show..But things changed as soon as they saw Misty. My whole life changed." She looked at the ground sadly.  
  
"Well..Eh..was it a good change?"  
  
"No, silly!" She giggled again, picking up her head with a huge smile on her face.  
  
'Talk about mood swings..If she giggles again I will strangle her...' He thought in his mind, a small smile spreading across his face.  
  
"Whats so funny?"  
  
"No..Nothing..Just thinking.." He cleared his throat.  
  
'Whoa I really am good..He's thinking about me already..' She smiled confidently.  
  
"So..Are you interested in coming into my room for a cup of coffee or something? Maybe go out to Lunch?" She nudged him in his side playfully.  
  
"I need to do some things..But maybe we can meet up later...." He tried to smile..  
  
"If you don't giggle.." He mumbled quietly, almost grateful she didn't hear him. He silently thanked the elevator when the little beep sounded meaning that it was her turn to get off on the third floor. He was on the seventh.  
  
"Okie dokie! Can't wait! Toodles!" She stepped out of the elevater.  
  
"..Eh..Toodle.." He shrugged.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Jason?" Misty stood at the door stunned, expecting it to be Ash.  
  
"The one and only. How are you, doll? Coming back? You should, the crowd loved you and already misses you. Especially me..I've really missed you..."  
  
There was a short pause before he began speaking again.  
  
"Well aren't you going to invite me in?" He grinned.  
  
"Err..yeah, I guess..And uhm..Thank you.." She shrugged as he walked in.  
  
"What happened in here?" He put his hands on his hips, looking around the room. There were bed sheets all over the place, and a bunch of drying towels sprawled out on the floor.  
  
She sighed. "It's a long story.."  
  
"Too bad I don't like long stories." He said, letting out a deep sigh.  
  
"Too bad." Anger was almost hinted in her voice.  
  
"Anyway, back to the reason I came to see you.."  
  
She nodded signaling for him to continue as she began to pick up some of the towels laying on the ground. He sat himself down in a chair as he made himself comfortable and, of course, not offering his help.  
  
"Like I said, the crowd misses you already..And I do too..And I was wondering if you could come back to us..And stay for good..And especially stay with me for good.."  
  
She immediately looked up at him in disbelief.  
  
"Are you crazy? I can't leave! I did my one show..My last show..And that's it! I can't just walk out on my best friends."  
  
He rolled his eyes at her words.  
  
"Why's that? Too hooked on ASH?!" He asked, teasing her with an annoying smile on his face. Misty seemed a bit amazed she knew Ash, but she shrugged it off quickly.  
  
Ash was just walking past the door towards Brock's room in persuit of the credit card, but he stopped as soon as he heard his name being said by Jason's voice.  
  
'Should I spy..?' He remembered what happened last night.  
  
'Well..The door isn't see-through as far as I know..' He smiled evilly to himself as he pressed his ear against the door.  
  
"Too hooked on Ash? Yes, I guess you would say so. He's my best friend and I can't leave it for something that I'm not even sure that I'm good at..Not only is it crazy, but it's incredibley stupid!"  
  
Ash smiled at Misty's words. 'That's my Misty..'  
  
"You obviously have no idea what your passing up. I saw that look in your eyes when the crowd clapped and cheered you on. I saw it, and I won't let you disappoint yourself because you are probably just affraid of hurting poor Ashy-boy's feelings." Jason was as stubborn and selfish as a person could ever be, which scared Misty in a way. Too bad she wasn't aware of his violent temper.  
  
Ash clenched his fist at the mention of his much hated nickname, 'Ashy- boy'.  
  
"You don't understand..I don't want to..I can't leave Ash and Brock..And Pikachu.. " She smiled to herself, thinking of all of them and how much she cared for each of them.  
  
"I know you want to dance and sing. It's in your blood, Misty..So don't tell me you don't want to, because I just know you do. Ash is just holding you back." Jason crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Ash has never held me back from something I love to do! And he never would!" She hissed at him.  
  
"He's doing it now Misty. Isn't it true that you had to beg him to go to your concert..? And didn't you even have to ask him if you could be in your OWN concert? Open your eyes..He will one day drop you and go after his dream and forget about you..He will, I see it coming. Your best listening to me or else.." He warned Misty as if he knew what he was talking about.  
  
Ash felt anger over-take him, but he still had some sensibility left not to bust the door open and punch the living hell out of Jason. If Misty knew he were spying, she would be very..very angry.  
  
She felt warm tears blur her vision as she picked up a couple more towels hiding under the bed, thinking about it more deeply.  
  
"You know, you have no idea what your talking about, Jason! You don't know Ash! You don't know me! Maybe you should just leave." She wiped the tears from her eyes before they reached anywhere beyond her eyelid.  
  
Jason merely laughed at her in response, feeling no compassion that she was almost crying.  
  
"My Gosh..He's even got you crying for him. What did he do to you?"  
  
'She's...crying? Dont listen to him, Mist...He's trying to brainwash you...' Ash thought to himself, clenching his fist harder and snapping his eyes shut tightly as every arrogant word Jason said shot waves of anger through him. At this point, it was getting difficult as he tried to control himself and his emotions.  
  
"Jason, just leave if your going to tell me things that aren't true. I don't need to hear things like that. And for the love of God, if your going to try to mess with my head at least try to make everything sound more convincing, moron."  
  
"I'm not finished yet."  
  
"You were never asked to finish." She through a couple of the bed sheets back onto the bed.  
  
"Well I am. And what are you wearing?" He had just finished looking over every detail of her body and every little thing she was wearing..Including the charm bracelet.  
  
"Oh..Okay, let me explain this to you very carefully.. This is called cloths...C-L-O-T-H-S..It helps in keeping me warm and comfortable..The main use for it is so I don't run around naked all day."  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"No, I'm talking about that thing wrapped around your wrist..I mean.. It doesn't deserve to be called a bracelet, dare I say that word."  
  
"You....You....." Misty could barely speak from the anger building inside of her.  
  
"GET OUT NOW! I don't want to deal with YOU now! I don't need to!" She screamed pointing towards the door. Lord knows Ash would have ran to another country without stop if she yelled at him that way.  
  
Jason merely shrugged.  
  
"He gave it to you, didn't he? I can tell. My God it is ugly. At least I could buy you REAL bracelets..You know, things actually worthy of being called bracelets."  
  
She rose her hand to slap him, but he stopped her hand before it was an inch from bringing massive stinging pain to his face.  
  
"My, my.. You never do learn. How about we make a deal?" He smiled at her. He seemed to be enjoying seeing her so worked up over the bracelet. He almost seemed to be enjoying her so worked up over Ash alone.  
  
"Let go of me." She narrowed his eyes as him as she tightened his grip on both of her wrists.  
  
'What..is..he doing?' Ash bit on his bottom lip, preventing him from speaking. He continued to listen to their conversation. Although it was so tempting to him at the moment, he didn't run in and scream his head off at Jason.  
  
"As soon as you listen to me."  
  
She didn't say a word except for stare at him with anger and some fear, so he continued.  
  
"Let me and Aydee travel with you and Ash for a week. Give me seven days to proove to you that Ash is not what he seems.." The grin spread on his face when he saw the shock in her eyes.  
  
"The hell you will!"  
  
"Affraid that I will proove you wrong, Misty? Affraid that Ash really will drop you? That he doesn't care about you?"  
  
"Only in your dreams..I know he cares about me..And I care about him!"  
  
Some of Ash's anger washed away, and yet not all of it.  
  
'She..she cares for me..' Despite that they were said a tone of voice that had a mixture of sadness and anger, he still understood how she wanted to say it.  
  
"Alright..I will lower it to four days. Four days and I will proove to you that that Ash doesn't care anything about you.."  
  
"NO! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!" She snapped at him, trying to have her wrists realesed from his grasp.  
  
"Two days." He still seemed calm.  
  
"HOW ABOUT NEVER?! LET ME GO NOW!" She hissed, trying to kick him but was unsuccessful.  
  
"I know you know its true, Misty. One day and I'll proove it to you.." Impatience slowly made its way over his eyes.  
  
She lowered his eyes, looking straight at him and calmed herself. There was a fire in her eyes as if Satin had overtaken her soul and all she wanted right then and there was to destroy Jason.  
  
She lowered her voice to a deeper and angrier tone, moving her face closer to his..  
  
"No." The look in her eyes and the scary tone of her voice almost scared Jason to hell and back.  
  
"Have..it..your..way..." He said angrily, pushing her roughly against a wall, creating a severe bruise on the back of her shoulder.  
  
She groaned lightly in pain, finally allowing her tears to flow freely.  
  
"THATS IT!" Ash yelled, figuring that the huge 'thump' noise was his cue to step in. Ash slammed the door open, startling Jason.  
  
Brock and Racheal stood up in alarm when they heard Ash suddenly yelling and all that other noise in the next room.  
  
Ash took one look at Misty's disheartened figure leaning up against the wall in pain and fury rose, over taking his body. He ran towards Jason, but Jason acted as if Ash were a joke, almost ignoring him. Thoughts whirled through Misty's head as everything soon turned into confusion around her.  
  
Ash angrily rammed Jason into a wall, wrapping his hands around his neck.  
  
"If..you..ever....EVER..touch a hair...on her head...EVER again..."  
  
"You'll what?" Jason tried to laugh, but all came out was a cough because of the strong grip Ash had on his throat. Jason could barely speak.  
  
"Let's just say you won't be trying to laugh at me anymore." Ash eyes held nothing but hatred and pure anger as he pressed his hands deeper into Jason's neck, preventing him from breathing. The look Ash eyes held scared Jason enough to want to jump off the balcony in fear of Ash.  
  
"ASH!" Brock yelled, entering the room. Brock felt almost affraid of Ash and the fact that he was trying to kill Jason, but Brock knew he had to stop him.  
  
"Misty...." Racheal ran towards Misty who was sitting on the ground, holding onto the back of her shoulder.  
  
"I'm so sorry...What happened? Oh God..." Racheal removed Misty's hand from her shoulder and found warm blood.  
  
"ASH! LET HIM GO! NOW!"  
  
"Watch yourself...Especially Misty.." Jason hissed into Ash's ear when Ash allowd himself to lessen his grip on Jason's neck. The fury rose in Ash again from how he said Misty's name..It was a threat, he was sure of it. Ash rammed Jason back up against the wall again, preventing him from breathing once more.  
  
"NOW ASH! LET GO!" Brock yelled, roughly ripping Ash away from Jason. Ash turned to face Brock. He felt a chill go up his spine when he saw the anger in Ash's eyes. Brock almost wanted to run away himself.  
  
"Relax, okay?" Brock patted his shoulder carefully.  
  
"Leave, Jason...LEAVE!" Racheal screamed at him, pushing him out the door.  
  
"YOUR LUCKY HE DIDN'T KILL YOU!" She yelled as he walked down the hallway as if nothing had happened. Truth be known, Jason was shaking like crazy, even if he tried to act calm.  
  
Ash breathed in deep breaths, trying to calm himself and most of all, trying to forget about Jason..Which would be impossible for the time being.  
  
Ash never pictured himself as a violent person..And it almost scared him at how angry he was and how strong he never knew he was..And it was all for Misty. All for her. She gave her his strength and will to live on each and every day..And he was grateful for her.  
  
Pikachu slowly made his way into the heated room. He glanced from Misty's face which had dry tears leading down her cheeks..And then looked at Ash's face. Pikachu had never in his life seen anger as great as Ash's..It was undescribable. He looked around once more, watching Racheal trying to comfort Misty and Brock trying to relax Ash.  
  
'My Gosh..It really is true...You really DO miss a lot when you go into the bathroom.'  
  
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Whoa..talk about violence.. o.o;; Next chapter will be really really romantic!  
  
^-^ Big promise there! Sorry for the lack of romance in this one.. o.o; I actually scared myself writing that.. I'm okay though ^^;; Please review, guys! Love yah..And chapter seven and eight should be out before school starts for me. -shivers at thought of school- 


	7. Blue Moon

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
  
  
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She found herself spending most of the day in quiet, refusing to talk to anyone but try to find answers to questions that she could not figure out on her own. He did most of the same as her. Not only was she shaken up by what had occurred hours earlier, she was also very confused.  
  
She looked out on to the moonlight, foolishly hoping there would be a blue moon tonight. Although this day called for a black moon. Thoughts spun through her mind as all she could do was wonder was possessed him to go crazy like that. Maybe it was the fact that Jason had hurt her. Maybe it was the fact that Jason was telling her things that made her want to cry. Maybe it happened because Ash maybe had loved her. Her heart wanted to believe that, but her mind forbidded it.  
  
She watched the bracelet that clung onto her wrist. It glistened in the moonlight. Whatever made Jason say that this bracelet was ugly, must have been even stupidier then Jason himself. This bracelet made even the prettiest of girls look ugly. It reflected off the truth that Ash and Misty trusted eachother, cared for eachother, and....loved eachother. The bracelet held more powers then all the Pokemon in the world combined. It held more magic then this world could ever hope for. Or at least Misty believed so.  
  
She wasn't shocked at was Ash had done. Well, not that shocked. She was more shocked at what Jason had done. She never knew or suspected Jason could be so selfish or evil. Now she knew. She was almost angry at herself for not listening to Ash when he said he didn't trust him the first time. But even if she did listen, none of this could have been prevented from happenning anyway. Misty didn't have the heart to slam the door in Jason's face from the minute he showed up behind that door.. At least now she did.  
  
In every direction Misty looked, there were stars. They seemed almost angry that the full moon was getting most of the attention that night. They seemed to be sparkling with all their might, and finally won Misty's attention. She silently wished she could be like them for at least a second of her life. So beautiful and noticeable. Just to shine up in the sky looking below everyone below her as everyone looked back up at her. It would just be nice..  
  
Memories of what had happened ran suddenly through her mind, disturbing her peaceful thoughts. The words that were said, that actions that were done. She snapped her eyes shut as it passed through her.  
  
"He gave it to you, didn't he? I can tell. My God is it ugly. At least I could buy you REAL bracelets..You know, things actually worthy of being called bracelets."  
  
She rose her hand to slap him, but he stopped her hand before it was an inch from bringing massive stinging pain to his face.  
  
"My, my.. You never do learn. How about we make a deal?" He smiled at her. He seemed to be enjoying seeing her so worked up over the charm bracelet. He almost seemed to be enjoying her so worked up over Ash alone.  
  
"Let go of me." She narrowed his eyes as him as she tightened his grip on both of her wrists.  
  
Their voices echoed through her mind, painfully reminding her of what had happened earlier.  
  
She was thankful when she heard Ash's soft and soothing voice that brought her out of her painful memories.  
  
"Th..The moon looks pretty tonight." He cautiously took steps closer to her and was soon enough leaning on the railing that prevented them from falling into the ground.  
  
"Isn't it?" Misty's voice remained unemotional.  
  
She could feel him watching her again, but this time a lot more carefully. She knew he was confused just as much as her. He watched the moonlight reflect off of her firey red hair and pure white skin. They both suffered a small uncomfortable pause before Misty spoke up again.  
  
"I'm sorry." Her voice seemed weak and unhappy.  
  
He looked at her with disbelief in his eyes.  
  
"For what?" He almost allowd a laugh escape his lips.  
  
"For not listening to you..And about Ja...Jason.." She could barely say his name.  
  
"It's okay. I've made too many mistakes to have you of all people to listen to me." He tore his eyes away from her.  
  
"No..I knew you were right..Inside.. I just didn't listen." She paused for a moment, "That was scary, what happened before..Even for me.."  
  
"Even for you? Misty, your affraid of bug pokemon!" Ash grinned slightly at the anger beginning to make itself known in her eyes.  
  
She sighed, trying to forget about what Ash had said. It worked for once too.  
  
"Forget it."  
  
'She didn't even scream at me yet..What did Jason do to you..?' Ash thought in his mind, growing a little angry at the small mention of Jason's name.  
  
"What's wrong, Misty? There's nothing to be affraid of anymore.. Jason's gone." He attempted to comfort her. As much as he knew she needed to be held by him right now, he wouldn't dare attempt to tell her so.  
  
"We don't know that, Ash. That's the part thats getting to me. What if he comes back? Then what?"  
  
"Misty! Did you see the way he was shaking?! I highly doubt he will be coming back any time soon."  
  
"He...still...can..." She clenched her fist shut tightly and turned her head to the ground, not allowing herself to look at him in the eyes.  
  
"I won't let him. And you know that." He tried to look her seriously in the eyes, but she wouldn't look at him.  
  
"But what....."  
  
He interrupted her, "Nothing! Nothing will happen, Misty! That's it! It's over, okay?" Ash tried to speak softly, but her worrying over everything wasn't making anything better.  
  
She nodded tiredly. Both unaware of the havoc going on just a couple of floors below them.  
  
"HOW COULD YOU LOOSE CONTROL LIKE THAT?!" Aydee's voice could be heard yelling throughout the whole third floor.  
  
"I Dont know. Relax. Things are going just as planned."  
  
"THE GIRL IS AFFRAID OF YOU! THATS GOING AS PLANNED?!" She sighed exhaustedly, tiredly allowing herself to fall onto the bed.  
  
"Things are going perfectly in order.." The look on his face screamed that he couldn't care less about what Aydee thought, which was getting her even angrier.  
  
"Yup! Just as planned. You almost getting KILLED was perfectly in line with the plan." She crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Ash can't kill anyone. It's not in his blood to kill..He wouldn't unless someone did something SERIOUS to Misty or someone he cared deeply about..That's when I'll run, okay?"  
  
"Don't even say her name." She hissed.  
  
"I just pushed her against a wall. That's it. I don't see what the big deal was. Then he came barging in out of no where and in seconds was strangling me. He's a quick one."  
  
"The big deal is that its for sure he cares for her more then a friend. We have to get rid of her."  
  
"The hell we do! She's mine, remember? We just need to improove our plan some more and go by that."  
  
"You think? You are stupidier then I thought."  
  
"Or we can not go with the plan at all." He shrugged.  
  
"Of course we will!" Aydee snapped.  
  
"Keep acting like your the boss of this, and we will drop the plan. We'll do more then just drop the plan..Maybe drop Ash also... Right off a cliff if you don't learn how to shut up." His voice held warning and threat. Aydee knew that if she didn't listen to him, Ash would die because of her. Jason never did joke with things like that.  
  
She nodded quietly, turning to look in the other direction and away from Jason. He looked at her like he wanted her dead, and she didn't want to be looked at that way. Not now. She felt herself beginning to fear Jason, but quickly shook it off.  
  
'He's harmless..I shouldn't be worried over nothing. Misty is the one who should be worried.'  
  
Her thoughts were disturbed when Jason began to speak up again.  
  
"Be awake tomorrow by five o' clock. They can't leave earlier then that to Darken City. I'll expect you up and ready. Now get some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day." She nodded as Jason turned and walked towards the door. He took one last look at her before he walked out and closed the door behind him.  
  
"And your last." He said in a cold, low voice, as an evil smile spread across his lips.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Misty?" Ash asked, turning his attention towards her again after he tried to understand what had happened today for the hundreth time.  
  
"Hmm..?" She still wouldn't turn to look at him. She was completely focused on the bright, glowing moon seeming as if she wished it would turn blue.  
  
"How did he find you?"  
  
"What do you mean?" She finally turned to look at him with question in her eyes.  
  
"I mean how did he find you. He asked me what your room number was when I bumped into him and I wouldn't even tell him enough to help him figure out the color of your hair.."  
  
Her face suddenly held a mixture of confusion and fear when she began to understand what he had told her.  
  
"He might of knocked on every single door on that floor..But how did he even know we were on this floor?"  
  
"You think he knocked on every door from the first floor to here? He seems to lazy for that. But hey, he may have had loads of determination." Ash said that with half sarcasm in his voice..The other half was attempting to be serious.  
  
"When he saw you he probably realised that this was the floor I was staying in. He knows your my best friend, so he had to figure I was here too."  
  
Ash looked at her and shooked his head.  
  
"He's too stupid to realise something as simple as that."  
  
Misty finally let out a smile for the first time all day, realising to herself that Jason truley was about as stupid as a person could yet..And yet he could be so evil and life threatening..But stupid nonetheless.  
  
"Mist, I'm not sure if I'm really starting to begin to go crazy or anything, but did you smile? My Gosh! I think my Misty has returned from the 'I am so very sad' world! What's up, baby?" He grinned at her, bringing her into a tight hug, not caring if she objected to it.  
  
Both of them closed their eyes, savoring the moment of being close to eachother. It was a huge healing experience for both of them..And they both felt safer in eachother's arms..Especially Misty.  
  
"I missed you, Mist."  
  
"I missed me too."  
  
He smiled down at her warmly. The time seemed to go much too quickly when he suddenly remembered a promise that was silently made to her the night before.  
  
'Alright..Perfect time..Well it would be even more perfect if Jason was never born..Err..But you'd have to admit, it's still so perfect.. Ok..Clear your throat, and try to not look nervous..And as always, be charming..Got it? Okay..' He thought nervously.  
  
Ash cleared his throat, signalling he was going to ask Misty something important and wanted her attention. She looked up at him curiously, waiting for him to continue.  
  
"Um..The moon looks beautiful tonight.." He said nervously.  
  
He saw the disappointment in her aqua eyes and wanted to cringe. They both had the same thing going on in their minds, but neither dared to say so.  
  
'Coward.' He thought to himself.  
  
He could easily picture Pikachu screaming that at him for a week.  
  
Slowly, an idea struck him as an almost devilish smile made its way across his face. He felt himself become braver by the second. He figured that the desire he had to make her smile again must have been incredibley powerful to make him say what he was about to say next. He slowly leaned in closer to her and whispered into her ear,  
  
"I think its beginning to look like a blue moon.."  
  
  
  
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Uhmm..short chapter.. ^^; Chapter eight will be longer! :D and eh.. be gentle because of the huuggee cliffhanger.. Eh...How about no sharp objects while attacking me? ^^;;; Err..guess not.. -runs away to work on chapter eight, dodging knives hurling towards her- 


	8. Love Dr Chu

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
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She almost let a gasp escape her lips, after realising what he had said and the meaning behind it.. He knew about what her sisters had once told her. She didn't know if he felt sorry for her, or actually wanted to do this. Part of her still couldn't grasp that he was doing this for her.  
  
Ash was more nervous then ever. He had to grab a hold onto the railing to keep his hands from shaking. He didn't know why he was doing this or what other power possessed him to do this, except for his heart.  
  
She looked into his meaningful chocolate brown eyes as a small smile spread across her face. It calmed him down more then she'll ever know. In his eyes, she knew he really meant it..He really did. Or did he? She felt happy, excited, nervous, scared, and in love all at once.  
  
He looked deeply into her aqua-colored eyes. He knew she wasn't going to run away from him..He wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but he could have sworn that he saw love in her eyes.  
  
He finally noticed Misty was blushing an incredible bright red and couldn't help grinning at her even more. Although, he was probably even redder then her. The uncomfortable silence added to how time was moving quite slowly. He blocked out everything from his mind except for Misty, searching her eyes for any bit of reluctance. He found none.  
  
"As blue as the ocean." She said almost below a whisper, but in a dreamy tone of voice. He seemed as if he didn't want to wait for an answer..The look in her eyes told him everything. In just a matter of seconds, he had his lips pressed against hers.  
  
A roaring electricity ran through their veins. Misty's arms reached behind his back and grasped onto him as she felt her entire body go limp beneath him. Her lips tingled with the gentle, caressing kisses, slowly becoming deeper. Ash felt all of his thoughts drift away as he did nothing but concentrate on the girl in his arms. He could feel her hands finally making their way wrapped around his neck, not willing to release him anytime soon.. His lips began grabbing for more of her taste, aching for the delights sending shivers running down his spine. As if she was a drug, he only longed for more.  
  
'What are you DOING?! This is just first kiss and I'm kissing her like she's a chocolate dessert!' He scolded himself in his mind, but still could not find the strength to pull away from her.  
  
"Oh..my..." Racheal stood wide-eyed staring at Ash and Misty.  
  
They both pulled away from eachother as quickly as possible, their faces immediately glowing a bright red. Embarrassment swept through them after hearing Racheal's astonished voice. Embarrassment must be pretty powerful if it could tear Ash and Misty apart so quickly.  
  
Misty made a weak attempt to act natural. A very, very weak attempt.  
  
"Hey..err..Racheal..Me and Ash were just..Looking at the stars..You know, because they are shining so brightly..And are so..pretty.. And so much..err fun to look at..And so.."  
  
"Shut up. Please. I think I am just going to walk away now..Very slowly..And pretend all of us did not see...err..do a thing tonight. And don't you dare say that nothing at all happened because I am not illusinating..Not yet, at least. I haven't been here long enough to illusinate..Or maybe......." Racheal's trailed away as she walked away from the two.  
  
"You heard." Misty's eyes wondered away from him as a painful reality hit her.  
  
"Err...Heard what?" He almost wanted to slap himself for saying that. He was playing stupid, and Misty wouldn't like it.  
  
"You heard me..Telling Racheal about....." Her voice trailed off into a silence.. An angry silence as he decided he wouldn't try to fight it.  
  
"I didn't mean to...Well, actually I did..At first I didn't mean to, though. My real intentions were to....", He paused for a second before continuing, checking for any signs on her face that she wasn't listening to him. When he found none, he continued.  
  
"My real intentions were to just scare you guys a little since I saw the light was on..And I guess I decided on spying on you because...um...I felt like a very nosey person at the time...?" He sounded like he was unsure of himself.  
  
"You intended to spy..And you heard something that you were never meant to hear.." Obviously, she was angry and him and herself.  
  
"Come on, Mist..I'm your best friend.. We tell eachother everything, remember? It's not a big deal anyway..So what? Your first kiss was me. I'm sorry if I ruined your little special moment you wanted to have with Jason. Or any other guy like Jason, for that matter."  
  
"Now your just being incredibley immature and stupid." She sighed.  
  
"Am I really? If this had never happened today, you would have wanted Jason for your first kiss, right?"  
  
"No.. Actually, I don't know who I would have liked for my first kiss. And my idea of a first kiss is..supposed to be romantic.. And with the man I love.." She partially lied, making Ash want to cringe. This night was romantic..And she did kiss the man she loved. Ok, so she lied completely.  
  
Misty, herself, couldn't believe she had just said that. She knew exactly who she wanted as her first kiss...and that was Ash. Too bad Ash couldn't see it at the time.  
  
'She..never..wanted me for her first kiss?' He tore his eyes away from her figure angrily.  
  
"It was a waste then. A waste of time and emotion. Why didn't you just push me away or something if I'm not that 'special' guy. I could have been training Pikachu for the time I took to kiss you!" He shook his head, almost smiling at his stupidity.  
  
"Oh! I get it! So you are looking at it as a chore? Well PARDON ME, Mr. Pokemon Master! Oh please forgive me for taking you out of your busy daily schedule to kiss me! I should be greately punished for taking about thirty seconds out of your extremely busy day. Oh HAVE MERCY! Why did you do it anyway? Out of pity? Did you actually take the time to feel BAD for someone? Oh for sha......"  
  
He quickly interrupted her rambling.  
  
"I did it because I wanted to! And not out of pity either. Gosh, you really need to learn when to stop talking sarcastically like that." He sighed exhaustedly, running his hand through his hair.  
  
"Let me try asking again. Why did you do it, Ash? Why did you make my life more complicated then it already is?" She spoke more to herself then to Ash. She laid her head on her arms tiredly, facing downward, and allowing a small groan to escape her lips.  
  
"I did it...because.. I..wanted.. to.... Not because I felt bad, okay?"  
  
"Mmhmm.. Did it mean anything to you? At all?"  
  
He knew this was a trick question.. If he said 'yes' she'd know how he felt about her.. If he said 'no' she'd think he did it out of pity.  
  
"Err...It could have meant something.."  
  
'Clever boy..' She thought in her mind, awaiting yet another idea to strike her. In no time, she had thought of something else to say.  
  
"How do I know if It meant something to you or not? How do I know..if....you won't hurt me?" Misty's voice grew quieter with each word, hoping he didn't hear her last sentence. She'd been heartbroken once too many times. Each time Ash saw her crying over someone not worth crying over, he'd swear to himself over and over that he would never do that to her.  
  
Both turned to face eachother, awaiting an answer. Misty's heart beat rapidly, being slightly affraid of what he would say.  
  
"Then your going to have to trust me."  
  
  
  
  
  
Misty found herself staring right up at the ceiling, still trying to find answers to questions she couldn't answer alone. She knew Ash had the answers. The short conversation they had only brought more confusion into her mind...Just thinking about the kiss and what it meant, gave her ten headaches at once.  
  
'Could she trust him with her heart?' was the main question in her head at the time. Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. She sat up on her bed slowly, looking at the door. The was open, but no one stood there.  
  
'Both of you are stupid.' Pikachu's voice entered the room as his yellow body followed.  
  
"Nice to see you also."  
  
'Don't make me shock you.' Pikachu showed little bits of electricity jumping around from his cheeks threateningly.  
  
"I wouldn't mind. It may actually get my brain to work. I think I may even need to call up my sisters this time."  
  
Pikachu rolled his eyes and made his way up onto the bed.  
  
'Nothing can ever be that serious. He just kissed you.' Pikachu sighed.  
  
"Word travels fast, eh?"  
  
'Very. Now what's wrong with it? Me, Brock, and Racheal spent the last hour trying to talk to Ash and all we got was that he kissed you and it wasn't meant to happen.'  
  
"Where are Racheal and Brock now? Why don't I get a whole news crew out here wanting to know my story?" She crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
'They fell asleep.' He snickered at the annoyed look on her face.  
  
'Besides,' He continued, 'They figured they wouldn't get anything out of you either.'  
  
"Annoying, yet true. And Brock and Racheal are in the same room sleeping together? What about Ash..? And you..?"  
  
'It's a big world, Misty. I'm going to sleep here..And I think Ash will too. Whenever he gets out of his 'I refuse to talk to anyone about Misty' stage.' He shrugged, seating himself on the bed comfortably.  
  
Misty took a quick look at the clock that read '9:45PM'.  
  
"You've got until I fall asleep..Which won't be that long."  
  
Pikachu nodded.  
  
'Got it. So, how long have you been thinking to yourself?'  
  
"For..Eh.. the last four years." Misty shrugged.  
  
"The boy knows how to confuse people better then a psyduck." She added with an exhausted sigh.  
  
'..And what is confusing you?'  
  
"...How many more years have you got to live for? This is going to take a while..Although, I think I've got a short answer for you."  
  
'Whatever works.'  
  
"Lets see.. He confuses me by what he does, what he says, how he talks, how he looks, and what he means.. "  
  
'This.... is going to take a while...Oh boy..'  
  
"Let's see. What does the little yellow mouse know." Misty taunted him, enjoying every second of it.  
  
'I'm not a mouse.' Pikachu growled.  
  
"Right, right. Of course. But what do you know, my little friend?"  
  
'Ash is at the point of insanity..But when isn't he at the point of insanity?' Pikachu pulled a sheet over his head, trying to shield his tired eyes from light.  
  
"No, no.. Exactly what did Ash say to you?"  
  
'That he kissed you and it wasn't meant to happen. That's all he kept saying over and over. If I didn't know him for as long as I did, I would have assumed he was crazy. Lord knows at least Racheal thinks so.'  
  
"But it was meant to happen!" Misty whined, while knowing that whining wouldn't get her anywhere. Pikachu looked at her like she was just as crazy as Ash.  
  
'You two are meant for eachother..' He shook his head in astonishment.  
  
She sighed, laying herself back down on the bed. The bed wasn't the most comfortable of places, but it was better then nothing. Although, Pikachu didn't like it much. He climbed onto Misty's small stomach, allowing the sheet to fall away from his face.  
  
'He's not angry at you, so don't even ask.' Pikachu mumbled softly.  
  
"Are you su..."  
  
'Yes I'm sure.' Pikachu answered before she could finish her sentence.  
  
"How do you know? I mean, how can you tell?" Her voice seemed to hold fear and worry if Ash would be hating her right now for some of the things she said.  
  
Pikachu tilted his head to his right, staring at her.  
  
'You really must be crazy. I've hung around with that boy for way too long. If he were mad of you, he would have stopped thinking about you a long, long time ago.'  
  
"So.. then he must be furious at me to be thinking of me this much!"  
  
Pikachu merely rolled his eyes at her in reply and made himself more comfortable on her stomach.  
  
"I..I wish I knew.." She said softly.  
  
'Knew what?'  
  
"If he really thinks that the kiss meant something. I wish I knew if he did it because he felt bad..I don't want to believe that the kiss meant something, when to him it really didn't."  
  
'I'm sure it meant a whole lot to him..Believe me, okay? And if you don't, I should warn you that I also have a speciality in scratching the life out of people.'  
  
She held her hands up in defence.  
  
"I believe in every single 'pika' and 'chu' that came out of your mouth."  
  
He nodded approvingly.  
  
'Good.' Pikachu allowd his eyelids to close and was about to fall into a peaceful sleep until he heard Misty's voice.  
  
"Any last bits of advice before you pass out?" She contained her smile as he tiredly opened his eyes to look at her.  
  
'Yes. Honesty is best. So be honest to Ash with everything. Even if you don't want to. If you lie to him about anything, it will come back to haunt you. And I'm not trying to sound scary either.. Just listen to doctor Chu on this, okay?'  
  
She smiled softly at him.  
  
"Dont I always? Hmm..You really should go for psychology. Such a clever pikachu, you are."  
  
He was too tired to roll his eyes at her so he simply just closed his eyes again.  
  
'Just call me 'Love Dr. Chu'.' Pikachu muttered softly before allowing himself to fall into a peaceful sleep.  
  
"Goodnight, Dr. Chu."  
  
She decided to not wait up for Ash. It was surpising enough that she had kept her eyes open for the time she had. She unknowingly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, far too tired to care she had left the light on. Only minutes passed and a huge bomb wouldn't be enough to wake her up.  
  
"Ash.." She whispered softly, turning her head to the her other side. A small smile made it's way across her lips. From the look on her face, you could tell she was dreaming in heaven...Or at least that she was dreaming of Ash.  
  
"Then your going to have to trust me."  
  
His words echoed through her mind.  
  
It was almost as if she felt her own heart decide that in that very second, she would trust Ash and place her heart in his hands..If he accepted her. But she trusted he would not hurt her..He wouldn't ever do that.. Right?  
  
  
  
  
  
Warm sunlight made its way into the room, making up for the unpleasant rain and thunder yesterday. It settled upon the two occupants of the room, making them want to shield their eyes from the brightness.  
  
She turned onto her stomach trying to hide herself from the sunlight, unknowing of the pain she was causing a little yellow creature who had once been lying on her stomach.  
  
'I...cant...breathe...' Pikachu's voice was muffled under the sheets.  
  
'...Loose..about...a hundred..pounds... Or..I will...shock...you..' Pikachu growled.  
  
Misty groaned lightly, wanting to shield her eyes from the bright sun, but couldn't find the strength.  
  
"Not..yet...Dont..go.." She muttered softly, obviously still deeply asleep.  
  
'You will be going somewhere very, very away from here very soon if you don't get off of me!" Pikachu hissed, trying yet another weak attempt to breathe.  
  
Misty's eyes slowly opened, but then closed after the sunlight struck her eyes painfully. Worry choked at her throat when she finally felt something wriggling around beneath her. After hearing the familiar pika's and chu's she figured out what..err who was under her.  
  
'I will personally send you to electricty heaven if you dont get off of me!' Pikachu snapped, trying to charge up for a weak shock he wanted to use on Misty.  
  
She smiled to herself pleasantly, pretending to ignore him.  
  
"Such a sweetheart you are in the morning."  
  
'Of course I am. NOW GET OFF!'  
  
She groaned lightly before forcing herself to roll over, freeing Pikachu and allowing him to breathe.  
  
He gasped for air furiously.  
  
'Free...dom..'  
  
"Annoy...ance." Misty rolled her eyes before streching her arms into the air, still laying down on the bed, wanting nothing but to go back to sleep.  
  
'Your even scarier then Ash in the morning. I never actually noticed until now.'  
  
"Go away."  
  
'Sure. Unless you would rather check on Ash..He isn't here, as far as I know. I hope he liked sleeping on the floor.. Or with Racheal and Brock.'  
  
Pikachu smiled annoyingly at her and the apologetic look in her eyes.  
  
"No, no.. It's okay. Little battling yellow mouse needs his rest. I'll go check on Ash after I get...Uhm..Cleaned up.."  
  
Misty looked over her figure in the near-by mirror. Her eyes fell over her messy and tangled hair which could be described with one word. Troll. She looked over her tired eyes and the rest of her figure.  
  
'Did Ash ever tell you how beautiful you are in the morning? Note the sarcasm.' He snickered at her.  
  
"Did you ever wonder what it's like to be killed with a toothpick?" She smiled evilly at him.  
  
'I think I'll go now..' He held his hands in defence, walking backwards towards the door, being careful not to bump into anything on his way.  
  
She sighed while nodding at him, half wishing for him to at least bump into a wall for her own amusement. After hearing the door open and close, she stood up to lock the door. She didn't want to take any chances while she was in the bathroom of all places.  
  
"I have a feeling that this will be a very, very long day.." She sighed, turning on the cold water to it's freezing point.  
  
"If cold water can't wake me up now I think I am going to have to rely on Pikachu for wake up calls." A smile twitched at her lips at the thought.  
  
"Oh yeah. Electricuted in the morning. Nice wake-up call. And now I'm talking to myself. Great. I'm beginning to sound like Racheal." She shook her head, as to relieve herself of her thoughts. The freezing water made its way around her hands in mission of destroying every ounce of tiredness left in her body.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you always on the seventh floor at five o' clock in the morning?" Ash mumbled as yet another one of her annoying giggles filled the empty hallways.  
  
"Just to see you again! How is your day going? And where you headed to? Isn't your room in there?" Aydee pointed towards the half-open door that Ash had stayed in the night before.  
  
"I was just going to check on a friend.." He tiredly ran a hand through his messy black hair.  
  
"..Misty.." Aydee's tone of voice had suddenly become deeper and angrier.  
  
"How smart of you. Then maybe you could tell me how you know what floor I'm on?" He crossed his arms over his chest, anxiously waiting her reply.  
  
"Err.. I guessed.."  
  
"Right."  
  
'Whose she?' Pikachu's voice chimed in as his chubby little body made it's way down the long hallway.  
  
'Thank God for Pokemon..' Ash thought to himself before answering.  
  
"It's..Aydee.. Right? Is that your name?"  
  
She looked at him dreamily as she nodded.  
  
'He..remembered..my name....'  
  
'..Did she escape from the nearest mental institution? I think she has a huge crush on you. Unless she looks at everyone like that..' Pikachu said with a small snicker, knowing she couldn't understand him.  
  
Ash didn't even bother to reply, knowing that if he said anything back she would want to know what Pikachu had said in the first place.  
  
"Is that yours? Or should I just trash it..? I know how annoying those things can...."  
  
"The Pikachu is mine." He narrowed his eyes at her, as well as Pikachu as anger crossed both of their features.  
  
"I should have known! He's so....err...cute..." She tilted her head to the side, looking over Pikachu.  
  
'Can I shock her?' Pikachu asked with a devilish grin spreading across his face.  
  
"No...Err..Not yet at least.." Ash bit his toungue after realising he talked back to Pikachu.  
  
Aydee's eyes lit up, knowing what she would ask Ash next.  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"Err..He wanted to know when we were..err.. leaving."  
  
"Leaving? You won't be staying?" A fake sadness covered her eyes.  
  
"I'm not planning to live here forever..."  
  
Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and sat there as an 'eww' look crossed over Aydee's face.  
  
'He..touches it..' She thought to herself.  
  
'At least you know you won't spend forever with her..You'll be spending it with Mi...' Pikachu stopped his words, figuring Ash would be angry that he was getting teased this early in the morning.  
  
Ash was too tired to even roll his eyes at Pikachu, so he just shook his head.  
  
"What did he say now?!" Aydee seemed so interested that Pikachu had the ability to speak.  
  
"Err.. That he likes you a lot." Ash grinned at the furious look on Pikachu's face.  
  
'I..will..shock you..badly..' Pikachu whispered through his clenched teeth, and low enough so only Ash could hear. Ash smiled uncaringly, but was too much in thought to notice that Misty was getting out of her room.  
  
She could see out of the corner of her eye that it indeed was Misty. A million evil thoughts went through her mind at once when she saw how Misty's eyes lit up when she saw Ash. Only one of those vicious ideas seemed to stick with her, though.  
  
"Well..Ash....", Aydee began, as a small devilish smile formed in her lips.  
  
Misty's eyes darkened after seeing Aydee...seductively placing her hand on his chest?!  
  
'She's here with.....Jason...And...touching Ash..And he doesn't care?!' Anger and jealousy flooded Misty as she slowly walked closer to them. Close enough to hear what Aydee said next.  
  
"My apologies to Pikachu, but I believe I like you much more."  
  
Ash was just about to back away after seeing Misty, but it was too late.  
  
She suddenly wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and, with amazing strength, pulled him closer to her as she pressed her lips forcefully against his.  
  
  
  
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I..should..be killed for that.. But I promised you guys a long chapter, ne?!  
  
^-^ -talks quickly before people get out their weapons- Well I liked it. hehe.. I told yah I would give you a big chapter.. Ok.. I said that.. ^^;;; Sorry that it took so long.. Between the tragedy in NY and all my homework I could barely found time.. But I did it! -does a lil dance before running away- 


	9. Desired Trust

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~  
  
A small cry that resembled a sob filled the hallways unwillingly. Pikachu, giving a hard whack along Ash's head, jumped off of his shoulder and ran towards Misty as fast as his little legs would allow him to. If Ash was going to stand there stunned, Pikachu would save the barfing for later and talk to Misty now. Pikachu's advice was incredibley needed.  
  
Althought Misty and Ash were apart by about eight feet, he could still see the warm tears come up over her aqua eyes. He could almost see her heart break in two. That was probably when reality gave him a rough smack across the face.  
  
Aydee's kiss wasn't pure, soft, warm...Nothing like Misty. Aydee wasn't Misty and would never be able to compare to Misty and thats what Ash had to get through her thick head. The kiss made Ash want to crawl into a small corner and shiver until death paid him a visit.  
  
'Whoa..I'm a better kisser then I thought.. He's still speechless..' Aydee thought proudly to herself, giving one last satisfied look to where a heart- broken Misty was once standing.  
  
She felt herself tense up when a fire of anger made it's presence known in Ash's darkened eyes. A worried smile ran across her face that replaced her confident smile.  
  
"If you ever in your useless lifetime come within one hundred feet of me or especially Misty....", He paused for a moment pondering what to say, "..You know..Your not even worth me taking the time to pray that you will suffer a fate more worse then a million heartbreaks at once. Your not even worth me talking to you right now." His voice was cold with hate and his eyes as emotionless as a stone. The site of him right there could make you run to hell and back.  
  
A rather slightly confident smile convered her features yet again.  
  
"You can not say you did not enjoy that." She smirked at him.  
  
"Maybe it would work for you if I said 'I hate you' a million times, but you can just keep on dreaming I said the opposite. Dream hard, too." He hissed as he ripped his eyes away from her, walking towards the direction of Misty's room. He silently prayed that this would be the absolute last time he'd ever have to see her or anyone like her being again.  
  
He found himself staring at the wooden door. He could have sworn it was laughing at him and his fear to open the door to face Misty and her watery eyes and broken heart.  
  
He glanced in the direction to check if Aydee was still there. As he figured, she probably ran down the stairs in fear instead of using the simple elevater.  
  
'Why do I feel like she'd rather want to speak to Jason right now?' Ash shivered at the thought.  
  
He moved his face closer to the door after hearing Pikachu scowl at Misty angrily.  
  
  
  
  
  
'STOP PACING BACK AND FORTH!' Pikachu growled at her.  
  
'Your giving me the mother of headaches!!!' Pikachu's small hands held on to his aching head.  
  
"No..No.. No.. NO!" She looked down at the bracelet and could have sworn it was mocking her by still clinging on to her wrist and never actually falling off.  
  
'I can soo turn you into Misty Roast right now..' Pikachu muttered evilly, almost forgetting about his developing headache.  
  
"I can't believe she's here with JASON! I should have known! How stupid can I possibley be?! Stupid enough, obviously!" Misty made quick arm movements as she spoke furiously, still pacing back and forth in the room. She tried to ignore the pain she felt in her throat, signalling she wanted to cry.  
  
'Would you rather like to be baked or fried?' Pikachu narrowed his eyes at her.  
  
"AND HE KISSED HER! To top off this peechy situation, THEY KISSED! They actually physically touched eachother! HE TOUCHED HER! AND SHE WENT WITHIN A MILE OF HIM!" Warm tears began to blur her vision, but she didn't care until she actually thought about what she said.  
  
"And...They...kissed....It never meant anything to him when he kissed me.." She said softly before allowing her knees to fall to the ground.  
  
'Incorrect. She kissed him. And he didn't like it either. So it wasn't necessarily a kiss.' Pikachu crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"It was still a kiss..I..I thought I could trust him..I should have known.." She said, still trying to choke back the tears.  
  
  
  
  
  
'She..never trusted me in the first place if she just said that. If she trusted me, she would have known that I would never to that to her..' He almost felt his heart break in two at her taunting words which were echoing through his mind.  
  
'If..If she trusted me she would have known that Aydee kissed me..And maybe if she had just takin the time for just a second to realise what that bracelet actually meant..' He closed his eyes tightly after sensing tears trying to fight their way down his cheeks.  
  
'She's...no better then Aydee..I should have realised after all these years.' He hissed in his own mind before turning to walk away from the door which was separating him from Misty.  
  
  
  
  
  
Pikachu growled at her, resisting the urge to electricute her right there and then because of her ignorance. Sure she was sad, but she had to eventually come to realise that, for once, it was not Ash's fault. He never meant any harm against Misty. He never did and never will.  
  
Both of them were now equally hurt and torn apart from eachother. Although Jason and Aydee did not go along with the plan exactly, this was only the beginning of the pure hell Misty and Ash will have to face.  
  
'Misty...stop crying..' Pikachu sighed, trying to ignore the torn look in her eyes.  
  
He got no answer except for a few more sobs, so he tried again.  
  
'We both know..Err.. I know Ash did not kiss her. She kissed him because she saw you.. Didn't you notice that? Did not one part of you see the evil smile she gave you and then the way she FORCED Ash to kiss her? If I was illusinating the whole time, forgive me. But, honestly, DID YOU NOT SEE THAT?!' Pikachu hissed at her.  
  
'If it's going to take tough love for her to realise whats going on, I'm going to give it.' Pikachu thought to himself.  
  
She was seated on the ground, leaning up against the wall and hugging her legs. She resembled a scared child, only waiting to face more trouble.  
  
"And..how long did it take him to pull away? Did you notice THAT?!" She whispered angrily.  
  
'Err..He took him about fifteen seconds..err TEN! I mean ten seconds..Uhm..Or.. 7 seconds? About? Do I look like I was counting to you?" Pikachu put his hands on his hips.  
  
She shrugged in response, refusing to look anything other then her legs which were pressed up against her chest.  
  
Pikachu shook his head at her figure. She looked so helpless and so incredibley in need of a certain black haired pokemon trainer whose dream was to be a Pokemon Master. He didn't seem to be knocking on her door at the very moment.  
  
Just when everyone thought things would be getting better from yesterday, it only continued to get worse. It seemed as if things would never start to get better for a good change.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Good morning, dear ol' pokemon master." Brock obviously didn't notice the look on Ash's face since he was too busy packing up his stuff from the hotel room.  
  
"Go..away..." Ash fell back onto the bed with a sigh.  
  
"Aren't you just the charmer in the morning?" Racheal mumbled with a small yawn following her words.  
  
"Does anyone know where my toothbrush went? As far as I know, I didn't accidently flush it down the toilet or anything.." Brock called from the bathroom.  
  
"Ashy? Where's Misty?", Racheal paused for a moment, "Did I just rhyme?"  
  
After Ash didn't answer or even cringe at the sound of his name sounding it was fit for a teletubbie's name, Racheal grew even more curious as to what was wrong with him. He felt an even bigger rush of sadness and anger (if that were possible) race through him at the mention of Misty's name.  
  
"Is everyone positively sure they have no idea where my toothbrush is?" Brock acted as if they actually answered his question the first time.  
  
Racheal shook her head at him disapprovingly.  
  
"Talk about irresponsibility for a nineteen year old, dont you think?" She asked Ash with a smile twitching at her lips.  
  
Ash didn't bother to answer her. He felt as if he was too hurt to speak to anyone at that moment..Misty seemed to be the last one he ever wanted to see.  
  
After all of those nights he spent wondering wether he should give her the bracelet or not. He looked at it as wasted time, thought, and heart. Ash could easily recall when Misty had actually seen the bracelet one night. He remembered everything.. How quickly his heart was pounding, how he mumbled with his words, and tried to poorly change the subject.  
  
She could see out of the corner of her eye something silver glistening in the moonlight. Curiousity fell over her eyes as she tiredly sat up, uncaring that she just lost her comfortable position in her sleeping bag.  
  
'What is that? Ash doesn't wear jewelry..Err.. I think he doesn't..' She thought while looking over the expression on his face. He seemed to be extremely deep in thought.  
  
'What if she carelessly lost it? What if the oh-so-traditional 'it fell down the river, oops!' thing happened.. No.. She wouldn't do that. Not to me. The bike was different..Err.. I think..' Ash thought, watching the bracelet, its every gem, and how it shown in the moonlight.  
  
"Ash?" Misty whispered gentley, yet slightly loud, but trying to be careful not to awake Brock or Pikachu.  
  
No response.  
  
"Ash?!" Misty tried again, but a little louder.  
  
You'd think he would reply by now, but no response.  
  
"Augh..ASH!" Misty growled. Realising how loud she yelled his name, she turned towards Brock and Pikachu quickly and found that they were both still deeply in sleep by some miracle..  
  
'Well Ash slipped sleeping pills into somebody's drink tonight..Poor Pikachu.. He needs his rest anyway..' She pause for a moment, 'Too bad I'm in such a mood to see Ash get fried now and my favorite electric mouse is asleep. Such luck I have.' She grinned, but turned her attention towards Ash when he finally replied as she completely forgot about her own thoughts going on in her mind.  
  
"Mhm..?" He didn't take his eyes off the bracelet, barely aware of who was trying to ask him many, many questions.  
  
"Err, Tired yet? I think it's been about 49 minutes and 9 seconds that you have been staring at that." She yawned tiredly, resisting the urge to fall asleep.  
  
"Be affraid. Don't always believe that your next drink of water won't have any sleeping pills in them. Be very affraid." She mumbled, being only half- aware of what in the world she was talking about.  
  
"What?" He finally brought his eyes away from the bracelet and upon Misty. Her fiery red hair was down and slightly messy, but cute nonetheless. She was wearing the pajamas with Psyduck all over them.. Ash had gotten them for her as a small Christmas joke.  
  
Her aquamarine eyes looked back at him curiously. He almost felt as if someone slapped him in the face when he realised she was looking at the bracelet which lied in his hand innocently..  
  
As if he didn't have a big enough headache from wondering what he should say, the dreaded question came from her mouth.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
How could just three small words give you such a huge panic and have you sweating nervously in just a matter of seconds?  
  
He looked down at the bracelet and back up at her quickly. He gave her a small nervous smile.  
  
"What is What?" He tried to act normal, but it seemed impossible at the time.  
  
"The thing in your hand? Do I need do to a police description on it, Ash? Honestly."  
  
He tilted his head to the side, looking at her.  
  
"Let me try again.. What are you looking at?" Making her believe she was crazy didn't seem like the best thing at the time, but he felt like it was going to work. He could blame it on Psyduck.  
  
'Yeah, Mist. I guess that duck is finally getting to you.' He sighed, shaking the thought away from him.  
  
"Ok, Ash.. It's silver..And err.. Shiny.. and it's sitting there in your hand.. Why do I think it's laughing at me right now?"  
  
'Ok..Think, Ketchum.. Why not change of subject? Oldest trick in the book, yet never worn out..'  
  
He cleared is throat trying to get rid of the nervousness as he spoke.  
  
"Be quiet or else you'll wake up Brock and..err.. Pikachu."  
  
"You be quiet. A nuclear bomb wouldn't be enough to wake up Pikachu. I saw you sneak in those sleeping pills, slick."  
  
He rolled his eyes at her tiredly.  
  
"They were vitamins! I'm telling you!" He almost grinned to himself, knowing that at least now he got the subject changed and Misty still thought she was crazy. This was going to be easy..Or at least he prayed it would be.  
  
"You don't need to make vitamins melt in water!" She narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"You don't need sleeping pills to do that either! There are other specific products that you can use to make it melt into a glass of...." Ash stopped himself from speaking, realising what the sly grin on her face was for.  
  
  
  
  
  
"ASH!!" Racheal growled at him.  
  
"Did he go into a coma or something?" Racheal asked Brock nervously.  
  
"Is it humanly possible to go into a coma and be still awake?!" Racheal sighed.  
  
Ash stared out on space while Racheal and Brock argued with eachother.  
  
"Well..It could be.. I guess.. Technically, yeah.. People are still living while they are in comas. So then......"  
  
"WILL YOU JUST GET SOME COLD WATER?!" Racheal screamed with nervousness in her voice at Brock.  
  
He jumped at the sudden loudness of her voice, not noticing that Ash was back in reality.  
  
"...Did any of you by chance find those sleeping pills in my bag?" Ash was still somewhat out of it.. But unfortunally he was not out of it enough to remember what happened only moments earlier in the morning.  
  
"Sleeping pills?!" Brock and Racheal yelled in unison.  
  
"I thought you were in a coma or had your mind transported to another planet!" She hissed at him, "and Misty would have made sure that I died a gruesome death if she lost you to a cause of daydreaming!"  
  
Ash's eyes grew cold with a mix of anger and sadness. He didn't want to hear her name. Not after what he had heard about her. He didn't want anything to do with her after how much she had played him as a fool. But remember, he only thought she did. She had a completely different idea going on in her mind.  
  
  
  
  
  
'What just happened?' She sat on her bed sniffling, trying to ignore the bracelet wrapped around her wrist.  
  
She packed up a few last things into her bag. No, she wasn't planning on leaving. They did have to get to Darken City soon, didn't they? But she wouldn't walk away from Ash. Even if he hated her with a passion, she would not walk away. She would never leave him forever.  
  
He eyes tiredly watched along the room. Pikachu was gone. She figured he left because he knew he wouldn't get her to understand a thing of what just happened. She thought that even if she wondered until the day of her death if Ash really loved her, she would never know the truth unless she talked to him. She had to talk to him.  
  
Her heart screamed for her to talk to him, but she couldn't find the strength. Especially not now. In her mind, she felt it was his fault and that he betrayed her. But how would she ever be able to understand that it was actually HER fault for not trusting him at the time he needed her trust the most?  
  
'What..am I going to do....?'  
  
  
  
  
  
"You made her cry." Jason placed his hand in his pocket, feeling the cool metal of the gun against his skin.  
  
Aydee rolled her eyes carelessly.  
  
"So what? I mean now Ash and Misty are separated and Ash is mine and Misty is yours." She shrugged happily. "I'm a genius."  
  
Jason faced the wall instead of her, speaking through clenched teeth.  
  
"Don't you see..Now she loves him even more.. And he..hates..YOU! You only made things worse." Jason growled.  
  
"Oh, Jason.. You worry far too much. No one hates me, dear. No one." She smirked at him.  
  
"We weren't going along with the plan, Aydee." He allowd his hand to get a better grip on the gun. His hand was perfectly ready to pull it out and fire at any time.  
  
"And I changed the plan a little. Everything is still in order."  
  
"No..", He turned to face her with a small smile on his face, "It's not."  
  
He pulled out the gun quickly and held it directly in front of her heart. She opened up her mouth to scream, but the loud blast of the gun silenced her. The gun silenced everything. The birds who were once chirping happily, Brock, Racheal, and especially Misty and Ash.  
  
All of their faces shot upward in fear and shock, most of all Misty and Ash.  
  
'What..was..that..?' They both thought stupidly, yet knowing perfectly well that it was the fire of a gun.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Step one complete." Jason grinned evilly at the dead body of Aydee lying on the ground. The blood from her chest began to pour out in a small rush, spreading to the floor.  
  
He picked up bag and slung it over his shoulder, dropping the gun carelessly on top of Aydee's lifeless body. It looked just about like a suicide attempt and Jason felt home-free.  
  
"I told you not to change the plan, hun." He smiled as he walked out of the room on his way to check out of the hotel.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Whoa.. such a long time I couldn't get out this chapter.. o.o; But its out, right? ^^; School has been really hard on me lately.. -.-; But I have to study extra-hard.. -groan- .. I will do my best to be a more responsible author, oki? ^-^ See you all in Chapter Ten! ^.~ And as always, I await your wonderful and encouraging reviews! ^^;  
  
-kawaiisakura 


	10. Thornless Rose

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~  
  
Ash managed to swallow weakly. What was that? No. That question in particular was a stupid one. He knew perfectly well what that was. And he also knew very well of how much that simple sound could complicate more then one person's life. In a matter of a second, a life could be lost and chaos could enter into another's life. All from that one shot of a gun.  
  
After the following thirty seconds of deadly silence circling the room, he heard Brock's voice by some miracle.  
  
"We have to go. Racheal, get Misty. Tell her we have to leave now...." He cleared his throat, as to shake the fright from his voice before continuing.  
  
"We might be late."  
  
She merely nodded in reply before walking out of the door, in mission to get Misty out of her room as fast as humanly possible. Not to mention to get her own self out of the hotel just as quickly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Each step they all made and their feet breaking the leaves was the only sound heard. Racheal and Brock had an on and off conversation every once in awhile when things got too quiet. Ash and Misty didn't dare speak to eachother..They didn't even dare speak, for that matter.  
  
'I can't stand this..Maybe if he threw a rock at me or made fun of me..Or something! It's too quiet when he's not talking to me.' Misty thought to herself before looking down at her watch.  
  
Tick..Tick..Tick..  
  
'Another second without Ash...And about five more seconds until Racheal says something to Brock.' Misty looked towards Racheal.  
  
'Five....four....three....two....'  
  
"So, Brock.. Where we headed? On our way, I need to get the camera's film developed. We are passing through one of those places, right?" She smiled slightly at him.  
  
'It's her fifth time asking that..' Pikachu mumbled under his breathe before crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"Yes, Racheal. We will. You have my word..." Brock sighed.  
  
'She has your life too if you dont bring her there.' Pikachu snickered.  
  
"Pikachu." Ash said sternly to him.  
  
Misty felt her heart beating much faster then at its usual pace at the sound of Ash's voice. Even if he was did seem so upset and if the only chance she got to hear him was when he was talking to Pikachu, it was enough.  
  
'..So..Hows Togepi?' Pikachu asked Misty, in hope of starting a conversation after feeling the uncomfortable silence beginning to spread.  
  
"With my sisters." Misty replied, sounding just as emotionless as Ash.  
  
'Yes..I know..But how is Togepi?'  
  
Pikachu was growing quite annoyed at the immaturity Misty and Ash were showing eachother. Although, he did notice that they did once make eye contact for a split second before turning away from eachother. It was a start, right?  
  
'I pick the worst times to travel..' Racheal sighed to herself, deeply in thought.  
  
"Whats wrong?" Brock's voice prevented Misty from answering.  
  
She was somewhat happy she didn't have to answer Pikachu. It was hard to speak when you felt like a rose's thorn was stuck in your throat..Not to mention, she missed Togepi as it was.  
  
"Nothing.." Racheal's lips forced a small smile, despite the atmosphere around them and ignoring the guilt slowly building in her stomach.  
  
That familiar, yet uncomfortable silence fell over them for the millionth time in the past thirty minutes, destroying Pikachu's hope for a conversation.  
  
Ash, every once in a while, would check to see if Misty would walk into something. Her face and eyes faced the ground sadly. He knew that both of them didn't want to face the world with fake smiles which pathetically claimed that everything around them was just fine, but they had to. He even wondered if she was crying a couple of times, but continued to stay silent. He turned away from her with a sigh before a man's yelling caught his attention.  
  
"MISS! PLEASE WATCH WHERE ON EARTH YOUR......" His words stopped at soon as he saw her face...Her tear-strained face.. It was far too beatiful to be crying..  
  
Ash clenched his fist at the man's desire to raise his voice at Misty.. As much as he felt that she had hurt him, he couldn't help being protective of her. It somewhat became a habit after all they've been through together.  
  
'Who..does..he think he is?!?!' Ash thought before even suggesting to himself to think calmy about this.  
  
'She's perfect...' The artist thought in his mind, barely comprehending her ramble of apologies.  
  
"I'm sorry.. I wasn't watching where I was going.. I promise I will be careful next time, but I'm sure there won't be a next time..Oh..please.. I'm so sorry.." Misty went on and on for bumping into a man and making him spill something over him..  
  
Her eyes wondered down to his shirt with a blue stain all over it.. It was...paint..  
  
"Augh! I really hope thats washable.. But hey, you do look great in blue.." Misty shrugged, forcing a small smile, despite the atmosphere around them.  
  
The artist continued to stare at her in awe. He almost looked like he was incredibley in love with her.  
  
Racheal stood a step back, as well as Misty as the artist continued to stare at her strangely.  
  
"Excuse me.." Ash's emotionless voice sounded before Brock could ask to pay for the damage.  
  
The artist's eyes slowly went toward's Ash, slowly beginning to stare at him in awe also.  
  
"Err..Ahem..I can pay for that shirt..." Ash mumbled before taking a step backwards.  
  
"THEY'RE PERFECT!" The man screamed, jumping up into the air, overjoyed, causing Misty to jump a bit as well.  
  
"...Are you feeling alright, sir?" Brock asked with a hint of fright in his voice.  
  
Racheal and Pikachu's mouths hung open, but Pikachu was the first to speak.  
  
'So...Humans really are weirder then Pokemon....Interesting...'  
  
The artist suddenly shook his head quickly, as if to clear his mind.  
  
"I'm sorry to have scared you..My name is Boune Di Claire..Only the best artist in all of Darken City..", He shook Misty's hand violenty as he spoke, "And I could really use you two."  
  
As hard as Misty tried to be nice about making him let go of her hand, she had to pull away roughly in order to be free and could only hope it went unnoticed.  
  
"Me?" Racheal said, glowing with confidence, obviously misunderstanding the man.  
  
"Err..No.. I meant that young man with the Pikachu..And the clumsy red head.."  
  
Misty's eyes narrowed at him angrily.  
  
"Clumsy red head?" She growled.  
  
"Excuse me, let me explain a little more. I'm used to working with landscapes and such..Most paintings are dark, since this is after all Darken City.. But now I am trying to new things and concentrating on real- life drawings of models.." He smiled at them kindly.  
  
"..I'm not a model..I'm sorry I can't help you with that..." Misty shrugged.  
  
'I am!' Pikachu grinned, ignoring the annoyed look Ash gave him.  
  
"You dont have to be..." The artist's smile went from kind to almost evil.  
  
"I'm sorry..Mr. Claire..Is that your name?" Ash asked, running a hand through his darkish night hair.  
  
"That is correct." He smiled proudly, even at his own name.  
  
"I've got a big day ahead of me..And...wait..", Ash paused to think for a moment, "..What exactly are you asking for?"  
  
The artist smiled confidently.  
  
"To draw you and your lady.. I'll give you the original painting for free if you allow me to make copies and sell them.."  
  
Ash thought for a moment...What if he did? But he couldnt! He had no time for silly paintings.  
  
"I'm sorry..But I have quite a day ahead of me and don't have any...."  
  
"Time?", The painter interrupted him before an even more confident grin spread across his face, "I bet you didn't know I was also the quickest painter in this part of Darken City either, hmm..?"  
  
Ash sighed. He was beat. Now it was all up to Misty.  
  
She opened her mouth to say an apology and that she didn't want to do it, but Racheal beat her to it.  
  
"They'll do it!" Racheal said with a small grin.  
  
"Racheal?!" Misty's eyes narrowed at Racheal angrily.  
  
"What?" She placed her hands on her hips, the confident smile still there.  
  
'No use argueing with her when she's this confident..What's the big deal anyway..? It's just a painting that will probably come out with me looking like a stick figure.' Misty sighed to herself.  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
Pikachu tugged at Brock's pants angrily.  
  
'Brock..Ask the man where the nearest photo developing thing is......Err', Pikachu finally realising that Brock couldn't understand him, turned to Ash, '..Ash! tell him!' Pikachu hissed, annoyed at the fact that all Brock heard was a bunch of pika's and chu's.  
  
"Oh..err..yeah..Brock... You should get those pictures developed with Racheal..We can just get more things done in less time.. Sooner the better..I'm already a day late for the battle."  
  
"Battle?" The artist asked, as he continued to set up his paint and searched for a clean sheet of paper.  
  
"Yes..Pokemon battle..If I win this, only three more battles to go until the Championships.."  
  
Misty rolled her eyes.  
  
'Here we go, Mr.I-am-going-to-be-a-showoff-pokemon-master..'  
  
"My, that is so interesting...Ahem..Now could you two please just sit on the grass, please?" The artist said, motioning towards the grass.  
  
Misty nodded, silently thanking him for the switch of topics. They both obeyed and sat on the grass, about five feet apart from eachother.  
  
"Guys, Me and Racheal will be back in just a couple of minutes alright? ...Or hours if she is capable of finding a mall..But we'll be back eventually. If we're not back eventually, we will probably be poor.." Brock smiled, despite his fear of malls at that time, knowing how much Racheal was an expert shopper.  
  
"..Yea.." Ash mumbled to himself.  
  
'How much more awkward can this get?' He thought with a small sigh escaping his lips.  
  
(Authors note: As awkward as I can possibley get it to be! mwahahahahah! ^^;)  
  
"Finally ready..Can you guys get just maybe about 100 feet closer, please? It would help." The artist smiled slightly as he took out his trusty pencil, getting ready to draw a masterpeice that wouldn't ever be forgotton.  
  
"This..Should be interesting.." Pikachu snickered, seating himself beside the artist.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Lift your chin a bit higher."  
  
The artist's commands were obeyed as Misty lifted up her chin. His serious eyes glanced back at forth from his sheet of paper and their faces. This was his passion, Misty and Ash both understood. They could both easily tell from how serious he was at it, and yet how much he seemed like he loved it.  
  
Every once in a while his brownish-haired bangs would fall over his eyes and he would let out a frustrated sigh. Misty smiled to herself, just thinking about what she would do if she was a painter.  
  
'I'd probably cut them off..Or..err..Just quit painting..Or maybe..' Her small random thoughts were interrupted by the artist's voice, yet again.  
  
"Could you please tilt your head slightly to your left, facing her? Like your about to kiss her..But hold your temptations for now and kiss the air.."  
  
Ash's eyes grew cold as he unwillingly obeyed. His mind screamed for him to just walk away from it..But his heart wouldn't allow it.  
  
Misty was turning to look away, but the artist caught her. He felt something was wrong between them, but he also felt a strong bond and love being held inside from each of them. All he knew for sure is that they both could not stand still for more then thirty seconds.  
  
"Misty..", He sighed, "Could you just look at him for the next twenty seconds, please? That doesn't mean looking at your watch and counting down until the next twenty seconds are over either."  
  
"Could you honestly draw a bit quicker? I bet there are turtles on this island that can draw faster then you can!" She hissed.  
  
"Possibly. If they could draw. Nice imagination you have, though." He replied with equal sarcasm in his tone of voice.  
  
"Listen, I don't have to do...." Misty's words stopped after Pikachu's tail came dangerously close to being in contact with her body.  
  
'..Shut up..Look into Ash's eyes..Smother him for all I care..Just listen to the somewhat not crazy big artist person, okay? So far the painting looks great, and I want him to finish..' Pikachu growled.  
  
"...Aren't you the pushy little yellow mouse today." She mumbled, turning to look at Ash...in his eyes.. His beautiful luring chocolate brown eyes..  
  
They felt a million feelings go through them all at once, especially including panic. Their hearts raced at quite a speed, as if it were an actual race for their hearts. A race like who could have a heart attack first.  
  
"The most stubborn two in love people I have honestly ever drawn in my life..Err..At least the most stubborn girl in love.." The artist muttered to himself, drawing as quickly and as gracefully as he could before Misty went crazy on him again.  
  
'They're meant for eachother..' Pikachu whispered to the artist.  
  
"..Excuse me?" The artist looked down at Pikachu.  
  
'Augh..nevermind..Why do I have two strange people as the only people in the world who can understand me?' He sighed, laying down on the grass.  
  
'Strange, yet powerful little creatures. Best to just stick to painting just like mama said I should.' The artist thought while looking over Pikachu's frustrated form.  
  
He returned to his painting and with a couple of more strokes with his pencil, grateful he was nearly finished.  
  
Maybe Misty and Ash didn't see it at that time, but the artist did. There was love between them.. Even the painting said so. It was all said in their eyes and souls..And it would be all that was needed to be said.  
  
"Okay. I'm just about done with you guys..I just need one more thing.." The artist smiled warmly at them.  
  
"What's that?" Ash picked himself up off the ground.  
  
"Your lady's bracelet."  
  
Misty's head snapped up at the words.  
  
"Excuse me?" She grew incredibley protective over the bracelet in just a matter of seconds.  
  
"...I would like to see the bracelet to make sure I didn't miss any of the gems.. If you could just hold out your hand..please?"  
  
"...No.."  
  
Misty thought to herself, 'If I already lost Ash, you aren't going to take away what he gave to me or what it means..'  
  
"But I'm missing the other half of the bracelet, Misty. I just need to see what it looks like on the back." He was almost shocked at how protective she was of this bracelet.  
  
"..She said no. If she wants to keep it on her hand, let her." Ash tried to convince himself that he was defending the bracelet only because it was his mother's..But deep down he knew the true reason he was defending it, even though he shouldn't of cared.  
  
"Hm..Must mean a lot to you, then?", He chuckled lightly before continuing, "Alright then. I guess the bracelet will have to go on to be broken."  
  
"I guess so." Misty replied sternly, showing no amusement in the fact that the bracelet meant the world to her, next to Ash.  
  
Ash, not being as angry as Misty was at the time, realised the irony behind the artist's words..  
  
'The broken bracelet...The broken trust...' He rethought in his mind over and over again. He could almost feel his heart break in two again, but forced himself to forget.  
  
Dismissing the thought as being ridiculous, he switched topics.  
  
"So, can we see the painting?" Ash let out a fake smile, only hoping it would seem convincing that he wasn't in that bad of a mood.  
  
"What do you think? It's your painting..You can look at it." He smiled reassuringly at them.  
  
Pikachu nodded in agreement.  
  
'The word for this painting is 'speechless'..That's how amazing this thing is.' He added, showing nothing but confidence that this painting would be framed and be worshipped by Ash and Misty forever.  
  
Their eyes were automatically drawn to the painting's magnificance. There they stood, facing eachother in the painting. A white spaghetti-strapped dress revealed Misty's womanly curves as her fiery red hair fell over her shoulders. Ash's hair easily blended in with the background with its night color, but the love in Ash's eyes was quite noticeable. He stood facing her, in the painting, looking as if he were about to kiss her, yet also trying to hand her a red rose at the same time. In the painting, they both seemed completely absorbed in eachother and wanting nothing but to never leave eachother's sides.  
  
As Misty looked over the painting, something also tugged at her eyes to be noticed. She looked around at the landscape, noticing it was dark and looked somewhat scary, yet still romantic in a sense. Her eyes wondered a little more upward and there she saw a full, glowing moon. The painting was perfect....In more ways then one.  
  
Ash's eyes wondered over the painting carefully before falling upon the red rose he seemed to be handing Misty. For some reason, it was the only thing colored.. The rose just seemed to jump out at you. He looked downward at the rose's stem and noticed there were no thorns.  
  
"..What are you going to call it?" Misty asked, still completely absorbed in the painting.  
  
"I've decided to call it 'Red Rose'." The artist smiled proudly down at his creation, taking out a thin black marker to write down the name of the painting, date, and his name.  
  
"Why's that?" Ash said, finally tearing his eyes away from the painting to look at the artist.  
  
"If you noticed, the red rose has no thorns. No, its not because I dont know how to draw thorns.. Its because it symbolises something." He spoke while scribbling his name down on the painting.  
  
"..It symbolises that you don't like to draw thorns?" Pikachu muttered.  
  
Ash rolled his eyes at him.  
  
"We'll figure it out later. I've still got a battle to get to and I'm not going to miss it to play guessing games about a rose." Ash said, dismissing the idea.  
  
"I want to", Misty shrugged, "I want to know what it means.."  
  
Ash glared at her angrily.  
  
"Then sit down and think until you actually catch a water pokemon. I have a battle to win." He spoke in a cold tone.  
  
"Maybe if you get incredibley lucky to learn from watching me catch water pokemon, you may catch one yourself.. But Dont get your hopes up on winning that battle though." She snapped back at him, equally angry.  
  
The artist immediately sensing the anger, took a step back while running a hand through his hair.  
  
"Well..err..I've got to go now... Um..I hope you really like the painting.. And I'm sure it will be quite a seller with my audience.. And you don't have to worry about me making a copy because I memerized it quite well. I also hope to see you both soon at sometime in the n..........."  
  
"GOODBYE!" Misty and Ash shouted in unison towards the painter, making him take a couple of steps back.  
  
He quickly set the painting on the grass, fearing that if he was closer to either of them that they would strangle him.  
  
"So much of pokemon being strange.. Look at them.." The painter muttered as he walked swiftly away from them.  
  
They returned their angry glares at eachother in just a couple of seconds. Pikachu sat up quickly and walked inbetween them, hoping they would realise that if they didn't listen to his lecture, they would be two...um....very badly electricuted people.  
  
"Grow...UP!" Pikachu growled, sparks of electricity beginning to grow on his cheeks.  
  
After noticing that they both were holding in their temptations to strangle eachother, Pikachu continued.  
  
'If you two would take a moment to stop arguing...You would notice Racheal and Brock are waiting for us....They are obviously too affraid to go near any of us right now.. And may some higher power help them with dealing with two immature people as yourselfs!'  
  
Ash let out an agrivated sigh, ripping his eyes away from the both of them.  
  
"Just..a..waste..of time!" He hissed, turning to walk away angrily.  
  
Pikachu shrugged, "It's over...And we've got a battle to get to."  
  
"..No you dont.." Racheal sighed, talking quietly. She didn't want Ash to hear, even though he was about twenty feet away from them and talking to Brock, she wanted to be cautious.  
  
"..What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well..ahem...There's a time difference in Darken City..A three-hour difference..", Racheal paused to sigh before continuing, ".......Meaning Ash is three hours late for the battle.." She looked away from the shocked expression on Misty's face.  
  
".......Save me..." Pikachu groaned, allowing himself to collapse onto the ground.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ash, this painting is really great...." Brock said, hopefully waiting a response from him.  
  
Nothing.  
  
His eyes stayed glued to the ceiling above him...He knew all of his friends and his mother in Pallet Town waited anxiously to see him battle. They probably thought he was dead after missing two battles. He was at least grateful he had one more chance to show up..one..more..chance. His last.  
  
"Ash..Dont you like it?" Brock cleared his throat nervously.  
  
"Everything is gone." Ash mumbled, still looking at the walls.  
  
"..Nothing is gone. Everyone and everything is still here..And you've still got a chance to make it to the battle..Right?"  
  
"You don't understand."  
  
"Your right. I don't understand a thing that could have possibley went wrong between you and Misty that could not be corrected. That's what I don't understand."  
  
"Brock, I mean this in the nicest way..", He sighed, "Leave me alone."  
  
"Sure. Do you want the painting in here..?"  
  
"Just go.."  
  
Ash found himself in the same position he was in a couple of hours ago. In a hotel room, looking up at the ceiling, and wondering where on earth Misty was. Well he knew where she was psyically, but he wondered where her heart was.  
  
'How could she believe what Jason told her? ...How?' He snapped his eyes shut, not allowing any tears threatening to go beyond his eyelid.  
  
  
  
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My Gosh, I finally got chapter ten out. School has been beyond hectic, but it's slowly getting better.. promise.. ^^; I hope you guys enjoyed this strange chapter.. At least it's kinda long, right? ^-^ Aaah I hope I didn't loose any readers in my time of absense... X.x; Anyway, I hope to have the next chapter out within one-two weeks. kawaii, ne? See you guys then. bai! ^.~ 


	11. There You Are & Were

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
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She held the painting protectively in her arms, looking over it's every detail...She rarely found herself looking at anything but that boy in the picture.. No, he wasn't a boy. He was nearly a man. A man that had once loved her..But who knew? Perhaps he still did. She hoped he still did.  
  
Her eyes slowly wondered to the girl in the painting.. The girl he seemed to love very much...Misty carefully noted each of the features on her.. The white satin dress.. Her pure skin.. And the amazing love she showed for the man beside her..  
  
Her eyes fell upon the rose, followed by curiosity.. What could it have meant? What kind of rose held no thorns? Perhaps magical ones.  
  
'Maybe.. It's one of those fairy tale things.. Fantasy roses.. It does make the painting look more..eh...mystical....Or...', She took a moment to think, '...Nobody likes thorns.. All they do is take away innocense from a rose.....And hurt.' She sighed hopelessly.  
  
She returned her gaze to the rose, looking deeply into it, obviously seriously in thought.  
  
'Okay, okay. Come on, Mist. Think! There's some somewhat logical explanation....'  
  
A gasp escaped her lips when a thought crossed her mind.  
  
'Thorns...cause..no.. pain.. The thornless rose means... He would never hurt me..'  
  
As soon as her eyes lowered, she spotted the bracelet...The broken bracelet. All hell seemed to be raised on her in just a matter of seconds. Reality seemed to slap her in the face, almost harder then how much her heart hurt at the moment.  
  
"The..bracelet represents.....trust.....And the..bracelet......broken... Why..didn't.. I... see..........?!"  
  
Tears flew to the surface, almost immediately. She placed her hands over her face, crying like she did when her parents had died. She cried with no comfort from anyone.. Like she had done many times before she met Ash. But what could someone do when the only person who could comfort them was actually making them cry?  
  
"It's..all...my...." Was all she could mutter inbetween sobs.  
  
"But you can fix it." Pikachu's hopeful voice emerged from the door. He knew she had realised the truth, and prayed she had the strength to make it come alive.  
  
I was counting down the minutes.. I was wishin on the stars..I was prayin for a sign.. And tryin to beat the odds..  
  
She snapped her head at Pikachu, seeming slightly startled and slightly. . . What was that? Was this a new-found determination found in her eyes? Pikachu smiled at her encouragingly. He was proud he got some confidence and some determination into her with just a few simple words.  
  
I was dreamin of you. Long before I saw your face. That you were waitin for that day. Then you reached through the hurricane..  
  
"Where is he?" She grew impatient as every moment that passed by was known as another second of killed time.  
  
When you, baby, you called me name. You broke through the storm.. And you turned back the night.  
  
"Outside the hotel, near the lake in the forest. Approximately 1,568 feet from here. I knew you'd ask. See, aren't I a handy little Pika - -" She was out the door before he could possibly finish his sentence. She knew all she needed to know, and that was good enough for her.  
  
Baby, you are the fire.. Burnin the midnight sky..  
  
Her heart pounded quickly, ignoring the fact that she almost fell down the steps leading into the elevator, nearly knocking over an old couple, and running fast enough to easily get both of her legs broken if she ever fell. She ran. . . She ran to see the only person on earth who could heal her broken heart.  
  
And your love keeps taking me higher.  
  
She ran towards the nearby lake, through the forest. Her muscles began to ache, but she wouldnt stop now. Not knowing the fact that she knew the truth. . And had to tell him. She so fast she would probably die if she ran into a tree. With the moon as her light, she refused to stop. She wondered for a moment if she could possibly be lost after running into a forest like a maniac and still couldnt find the "nearby" lake. The thought disappeared from her mind in a matter of less then a second when she saw his figure.  
  
Just when all hope was gone. .Where the hero belongs.. There you were.. Oh, There you were.  
  
And there he was indeed. Sitting, staring into the little lake and obviously deeply in thought. When he heard the sharp sound of someone stepping on fallen leaves and now broken twigs, he was finally shaken from his thoughts.  
  
Must've broken into heaven.. Just to roll back the clouds.. Were you on a mission.. Were you seekin me out?  
  
She stood still, watching him as he turned to look around as his eyes searched frantically for the source of the noise. She wondered if she really had the courage to tell him she was wrong. . Would he just send her away?  
  
Was I that one in a million? Was I that one sacred kiss that you couldn't chance. .  
  
You just couldn't miss.  
  
She shook her head, shaking away the thought. He wouldnt do that. She had to be brave.. and honest.  
  
"Ash?"  
  
And you, babe, you whispered through the silent tears. When you, you swept away all my fears. .  
  
Immediately recognising her voice, he stood up, waiting for her to step out of the forest. His face remained stern, yet bits of curiosity could be seen in his eyes... And possibly love. He honestly didnt want to speak to her.. Well, he did, but then he didn't. With the stubborness and anger slowly developing within him, he decided against speaking to her.  
  
Standin in the middle of nowhere with your arms wide open..  
  
"I'd be happy if you left."  
  
And you... You were the reason when there was no reason in my life.. You're the reason in my life.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't." Her determination slowly began to slip, but she did her best to remain detemined and confident.  
  
"Just leave." He turned his back to her, pretending to look very deeply in concentration of the lake.  
  
"Listen, I'm not leaving until you hear me out. And you will, Ashton Ketchum. You will." She felt like biting her toungue. He would find that little remark anything but amusing.  
  
"And who are you, Misty Waterflower, to be telling ME to listen to you? I know who you are and how you are..", He paused for a moment, pondering what to say, "And quite frankly, I dont want a single damn thing to do with you." His voice sounded a bit shakey and unsure, but nonetheless, the words were said.  
  
"Ash...", She ignored what felt like a thorn poking at her throat, "Just.. please. Do this for me.."  
  
After no response, suddenly she couldnt find the right words except for rambles of sobs, tears, and apoligies.  
  
"Just.. Please. I never realised it.. I dont know why.. It was just..", She paused, "I'm sorry. I know you lost faith in me and I know you hate me, but I also know you needed to hear me one more time.. And I needed to hear you... and see you. Just your stupid face, Ash Ketchum, would have been good enough..And if your damned arms could of just been holding.......me..... ", The tears slid down her face at a faster speed as she tried to control the aching in her throat, "And.. It would have been, Ash.. your..your voice was just good enough. Yes, just about good enough.."  
  
He still refused to face her, ignoring that single lucky tear that escaped his eyelid, went down his cheek, and died on his lips.  
  
"I.. I.. know now, Ash... I know..", the sobs and aching throat almost became unbearable, "Maybe... Maybe.. I was.. wrong. And maybe..I hurt you.. And just friggin maybe I..don't deserve.. this.. this.. bracelet.. But I...I do know one thing.."  
  
Her tears blurred her vision, but she didn't care. She didn't realise the words she was saying, where she was, or anything for that matter but the pain in her heart.  
  
After he didn't reply and her sobs could clearly be heard throughout the forest, she concluded her plea for forgiveness.  
  
"I.. I.. do know... that no matter how much crap we go through.. or..or.. how many new peo..people we ever meet.. You.. YOU were meant for me.. And I... I was meant for...you... Even if... if it never comes true."  
  
"There's only one thing I want from you, Misty. And thats for you to leave. Stop speaking to me and LEAVE!" His voice shook with small sobs slowly growing larger as his sad words hauntingly echoed through her mind.  
  
It was over. They were over. That was truley it. It was the end of everything she had ever hoped for.  
  
Or at least that was what they thought.  
  
Suddenly, Jason's taunting words echoed through her mind.  
  
". . . Open your eyes..He will one day drop you and go after his dream and forget about you..He will, I see it coming. He never cared about you of all things. Your just best listening to me or else."  
  
"Just maybe.. Jason..was...right..." Misty hissed before she ran as fast as she could from the man whom stole her heart away and refused to return it.  
  
Ash eyes widened in partial fear and partial shock. If he didn't stop her now, it could mean that his nightmare would begin to take place as reality and hell would be released upon his broken heart.  
  
She left with both anger and immense pain in her heart roaring through her veins. She only wanted to be alone.. away from all civilation.. Deep inside, she knew she was only running from one thing.. And that would be heartache and the fact that Jason may have been right.  
  
Her tears blurred her vision, yet nevertheless she continued to run. The only thing that helped the bracelet cling onto her wrist was their shared trust, which was now destroyed. It couldn't hold on any longer... It couldn't.  
  
The bracelet slipped from her wrist and made a strong contact with the hard, cold, ground. It went easily unnoticed as she contined to run away with all of her strength. She had a small fear that if she stopped running, she would be tempted to run back towards Ash and plead more for forgiveness, despite the fact that she was brainwashed by his hurtful words.  
  
It all left her with one conclusion.  
  
To follow Racheal back to the music business.. And to walk away from Ash.  
  
Ash felt as if a rose's thorn was stuck in his throat. He knew what he did was probably for the best, or would ruin the rest of his life. It was either one or the other.  
  
'What..did.. I..do?' He said, seeming dumb-founded.  
  
"I..I lost her.." The words came out of his mouth and practically smacked him in the face.  
  
"It's.....It's over..."  
  
  
  
  
  
Jason's mind ticked at a dangerously quick speed. This was it! It was all too perfect. If it weren't for Misty interrupting his plan to drown Ash, he would have already been dead. But now, things only got easier for Jason. He smiled to himself, leaning against the tree being in the most happiest mood on this planet.  
  
'Forget killing Ash. He just practically killed and buried his chances with Misty. I'll let him slide, since afterall, he did clear the pathway for me and Misty. God must just be smiling down on me.'  
  
With only a minutes planning in his mind, he knew what to do.  
  
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ahh.. short chapter. ^^; gomen! but i promise next one will be long. This is basically a very sad chapter. ;-; It was hard for me to make it. Sorry for any spelling errors. u.u; See you all in chapter 12! I hope you guys liked this freakishly short chapter anyway though! ^-^ 


	12. Last Hopes

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º~º  
  
He watched his medal reflect off of the light in the small room. For some reason, he wasn't that proud of himself. Truthfully, he didn't even feel that good about anything lately. So. Three more battles and he would be the one and only master of all the pokemon ever discovered. . . So? Where would he go after that?  
  
He didn't dare try to ask any furthur questions that would confuse him more. All he knew was that his lover, companion, and best friend was not there to cheer him on like she had been all those years ago. Instead of a redhead screaming her brains out, trying to encourage him and distract his opponents at the same time, he got a brunette that tried to do her best in cheering her on, but simply could not be Misty.  
  
Ash's eyes darted towards his half-open backpack. The bracelet hung out of the little pocket half-way. It was almost as if it wanted to jump out and run back to Misty.. The same way Misty had run away from it without realising. He remembered that as he was taking his slow and painful walk back towards their hotel, he saw it glistening in the moonlight. He only examined it for fifteen minutes, making sure it was his. He almost wished it wasn't his so he could think Misty still loved him.. So maybe he could think there was a chance. But all he knew it was a big waste.  
  
And what a big waste. That's all he could think of. Waste of effection, waste of emotion, waste of a close friendship, and waste of - -... What was he saying? He wondered if he was just feeling bad for himself or if Misty did manage to drive him to insanity. Sure, they were both hurt, but honestly, someone had to fix it sometime. He believed in himself and the fact that he could do it.  
  
"Ash? ..Want a cookie?" Brock offered one of his pikachu-shaped cookies to Ash.  
  
He let out a smile for the second time all day. The first time was for when he won the battle.  
  
"Not now. I'm thinking of a plan."  
  
Brock nearly dropped his tray of cookies at Ash's words. Was Ash deeply in thought about...a plan?  
  
"..If you don't mind me asking, Ash, ...but why wasn't Misty at your battle? It's not like Jason could have something more exciting for Misty to do."  
  
Ash's eyes widened.  
  
"She was with Jason at the time of my...my.. semi..final...BATTLE?!" Ash tried to keep his voice at a lower level, but he was sure he'd just woken up the cranky old woman taking a nap next door.  
  
"...Is that a trick question?" Brock set down the tray of cookies. If Ash was going to attack him, he wasn't going to dare knock down his very wonderful pikachu-shaped cookies onto the ground.  
  
"..What do you mean?" Ash narrowed his eyes, putting both his feet at the edge of the bed while facing Brock, ready to explode at any perticular moment.  
  
"I mean if I say 'yes', will you hurt my cookies, Satan?"  
  
"..If you say 'yes', I'd have a bit of more of an interesting time beating the living crap out of Jason. Therefore, your cookies mean nothing to me." Ash growled.  
  
"And what right do you have to do that, Ash? Jason couldn't possibly hurt her as bad as you did." Racheal's angered voice sounded as figure leaned against the frame of the door while glaring at Ash.  
  
"Why? What happened?" Brock asked, but was easily ignored as Ash turned his attention towards Racheal.  
  
"And why oh why would this concern you? You don't know anything that happened, Rach. Not a single thing." He tried not to let himself remember the past night.  
  
"I know enough, Ash.. Enough to say you lost her, enough to say I never knew someone was so capable of what you did, and enough to say you are the biggest and most stubborn and selfish guy on this whole - -"  
  
"ALRIGHT! Why is it that the cookie man knows nothing?!" Brock put his hands on his hips, beginning to grow impatient.  
  
"Oh, yes. That reminds me..", She paused and finally brought her attention to Brock, "Can you do me a favor?"  
  
"Whoa, wait. You think you can just stroll on in here and tell me that I'm the big bad guy of all of this when you have no idea what the whole story is and probably don't even know what shape those stupid cookies are!", He paused to take a breath, "And now...now.. now you won't even finish this arguement with me?!"  
  
"I have better things to do. I just had to tell you what you didn't know, hun. It would have taken you too long if you had to figure it out on your own." She smirked, walking down the hall preparing to make her own masterpeice of a lifetime...Yet, still was in need of Brock's help.  
  
"Buddy, whatever it is, I'm not going to bother to ask. I know your going through one of your first love heartbreak things or something along that line, but I'm honestly affraid of asking."  
  
Ash sighed, not bothering to reply. What else could he say?  
  
Before Brock left, he remembered to leave him with one last peice of advice..  
  
"And have a cookie. Best cure for heartache.. Especially when Misty made them.. and err.. made me promise to protect them with my life or else", he cleared his throat nervously, "They actually are difficult to make into a perfect pikachu stance.." In a matter-of-factly tone of voice.  
  
"Brock! I'll break a cookie if you don't - -"  
  
Brock flew out the door at the sound of Racheal's voice and Misty's threat in the pit of his stomach.. Or maybe it was just a cookie. Interesting. Or..or maybe it was an evil cookie. Even more interesting.  
  
"..Ok. I definately need to start working on the plan now. Too many interruptions for today.. " He said quietly, knowing that Brock nor Racheal could hear him.  
  
'So you wouldn't mind one more?'  
  
"Why, Pikachu? Is that you? Oh, I bet your here to make me feel even better, aren't you? Is it honestly that amusing to bother me when I'm trying to think very hard?" Ash said, making sure he could sense all of the sarcasm in that.  
  
'Ok, yea, that's partially why I'm here. Yes, I'm your everyday lovable, cuddly, and freakishly annoying Pikachu. Blah, blah. Let's get on with it.'  
  
Ash eyed him carefully, "What in the world are you talking about? Note, I mean this world. Not any other world you may have created in your violated mind."  
  
'Ok, I'd like to electricute you, but I'm too tired. You know, you'd think that you'd be thanking me until the day you died for winning that battle. First, I had to ignore Brock throwing around his stupid cookies, and then you kept looking into the crowd for someone, and did you see how big that psyduck's beak was? I thought he'd eat me before - -'  
  
"Before I make up a holiday as to where everyone fries their pikachu?" Ash rolled his eyes at the rambling little yellow mouse.  
  
'...Precisely.'  
  
Ash ran his hand through his hair tiredly, wondering how it was possible for a Pikachu to talk so much after a 16-round battle.  
  
'Stupid psyduck just couldn't pass out, could it?' Pikachu thought for a moment, but decided to move on to more important matters.  
  
'So, what happened? It's not like Misty would tell me, and I know I could get it out of you sometime. Thank God you have such a nosey little Pikachu."  
  
Ash, deciding against a sarcastic comment he could of made, decided to do something different for a chance. The question he was about to ask Pikachu may have been just enough to get his plan started.  
  
"Where is Misty?"  
  
'Recording Studio, with hell man. Approximately a mile from here. Can I come?'  
  
"I'm gonna do this alone", he paused, "but thank you for telling me."  
  
'Yea, last time I gave directions for Misty to find you, things didn't go as beautiful as she thought either.' He mumbled and could only pray Ash could fix this.  
  
Ok. That..was...IT! No more feeling bad for themselves. They had to both . He had to get up on his feet and fix this. There had to be some way. He was suddenly tired of feeling bad for himself. Sure, poor heartbroken Ash. What about Misty? He wasn't the only victom, and she had apparantly officially given up.  
  
His confidence that she wouldn't leave him was weakening and he had to do something. But when would be too late? He didn't know. How would he do it? That he really had no idea of how to accomplish. Although, one thought remained firmly in his mind.  
  
'I'll fix it. If it's the last thing I do.'  
  
And when Ash Ketchum wanted to get something done. . . He'd get it done.  
  
"I could of sworn that I said we weren't going to use that song, Misty."  
  
Misty's eyes narrowed angrily.  
  
"Why not just ONE song that I actually wrote?"  
  
He returned her glare.  
  
"No. It's too... Fictional."  
  
"..You honestly need to stop talking like your not hurting yourself while using big words. 'Fictional'? Come on!"  
  
Jason let out an exhausted sigh.  
  
"You know you are the biggest spoiled bit.. - -" Jason stopped himself, but the words were still said in a tone of voice that threatened that one specific red-head would be shoved into a wall again.  
  
She opened her mouth to let out another protest, pretending she never noticed anything, but he managed to interrupt her.  
  
"Look, I'll think about it, alright?!", He paused while taking in a deep sigh, attempting to calm himself, "Let's just get this song down. Alright with you?"  
  
"Just peechy." She crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from him to walk into the recording booth.  
  
If she had turned around to look at him, she would of seen the death-look Jason had given her. Just maybe. She had been pushing him. She spent the whole day convincing herself she trusted Jason and that he had nothing do to with anything.. That could of been the biggest mistake of her life, next to not trusting her true love of her life.  
  
He laid down the papers which had written down Misty's song on it.. And the answer to Ash's prayers.  
  
Ash rushed himself down the long halls, tiredly looking for a counter somewhere. It would be especially good for him if he found someone that was actually behind the counter. The recording studio was a maze.. A psyduck's brain could explode in there.  
  
Why he didn't let Pikachu come was beyond his knowledge. Pikachu could've easily sniffed up where Misty was. Pikachu probably didn't even need to smell her, he could probably hear her.  
  
There's a song that inside of my soul. It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again.   
  
His running suddenly came to a hault as he spotted yet another information counter, praying someone would be there to help him.  
  
I'm awake in the infinite cold, but you sing to me over and over and over again.  
  
He smiled gratefully when he saw a sophistacted middle-aged woman sitting at the desk.  
  
"Hey, do you by any chance know in which studio Misty Wildflower is in? Please?" He wondered how he managed to say anything after he suddenly remembered that he had to breathe.  
  
So I lay my head back down, and I lift my hands and pray to be only yours..  
  
"Do you know her?" She replied, not bothering to meet Ash's grateful eyes.  
  
He cleared his throat, nervously searching for an answer..  
  
"I'm her.. manager. I was running a bit late.."  
  
I pray to be only yours.   
  
"I believe she's in studio 19.. Just go to your left until you reach the end of the hall.."  
  
He left too soon to thank the woman, but he was still beyond grateful. He ran down the hall which seemed to last forever, feeling anxious to see her. Or was that nerves? Who cared. Time seemed to only move slower as he turned the door knob and began to spread the door open.  
  
I know now.. You're my only hope....  
  
He saw her.. Just sitting on a stool behind a sound-proof glass window, singing her heart out. Her eyes were shut gently as the passion of song and words smoothly escaped her lips.  
  
Sing to me the song of the stars.. Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again..  
  
He allowd his small smile to easily spread across his face. He ignored everything but Misty and the wonderful words of song coming out of her mouth. He ignored everything including what had happened the past night.. Everything.  
  
When it feels like my dreams are so far, sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again..  
  
He already knew that everything was worth it.. Running from empty information counter to the next and down long hallways, it was all worth it. Even if he couldn't speak to her.  
  
So I lay my head back down, and I lift my hands and pray.. to be only yours..   
  
Instead of wondering if she'd talk to him or not, he just then noticed how she even tried to go with the music and lifted her hands in a slight praying stance.  
  
I pray to be only yours. I know now... You're my only hope.  
  
Jason stopped the music while looking up from his paper work, "Alright, Misty. We're done for now", He suddenly remembered to try to compliment her somehow, "Well, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.."  
  
Ash controlled enough not to pounce on Jason and beat him furiously with any objects nearby. Besides, he had no time for that. Not now.  
  
"Nice to know." She muttered.  
  
Jason's gaze suddenly turned towards the door, swearing he could of seen someone out of the corner of his eye a second ago.  
  
"Let's take a break."  
  
Misty nodded in reply, hopping off the stool she was sitting on.  
  
'I wonder if Ash won..', she thought for a split second before forbidding any furthur thoughts she may have about him.  
  
Ash watched them both walk out of the room as he hid behind the open door in the darkened corner.  
  
'The one useful thing they have in this place are huge doors that could hide a boulder.'  
  
He looked around, making sure they were gone and didnt 'accidently' forget something, come back, and find out he had gone coward after wanting to talk to Misty so badly.  
  
So, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing he didn't bring pikachu. Who knew how many insults the little yellow electric mouse would have let loose on Ash.  
  
He walked around the small, but cozy studio, examining everything closely.  
  
God forbid he found love letters that Misty and Jason may of sent eachother. He was truly looking for every idea on why they were recording things in the first place. Maybe as she sang she was sending him signs that he didnt know of?  
  
'Now I'm just simply psycho. It's probably Pikachu's fault too.' Ash rolled his eyes at the thought.  
  
He moved towards Jason's desk, examining every paper hoping for a clue. He didn't look at this as spying.. He looked at it as being very interested in things.  
  
As he shuffled threw the papers messily, he came across one that may of been just the thing to get his plan started.  
  
"....Misty wrote this...?" He stared at the paper wide-eyed, in somewhat disbelief it was in her handwriting and said her name at the top.  
  
'She was writing love songs the whole time she traveled with me and all I could do was try to steal her diary?!' He felt like smacking himself.  
  
He read the words of the song over and over, wondering if what she wrote in the song was about him. Yet, he knew that somehow there was a use for the song, besides just having Misty record it.  
  
But... what if she did record it?  
  
And... What if they danced to a song like this one?  
  
And.. What if he had her again?  
  
A slightly devilish grin spread across Ash's face.  
  
"I've got it.."  
  
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yeaa! I got the chapter out! ^^ I wonder if I still have any readers.. o.O Anyway, do not fear, I'll reveal more things to the story in Chapter 13. Sorry about this chapter being short and Ash being a slight coward. -.-; But, dont worry, I will be back in Chapter 13! ^^ Promise I'll have more writing time! I have winter break coming up. mwahahahha ^-^ bai, everyone!  
  
- kawaiisakura 


	13. Here We Go

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº  
  
Racheal carefully measured and cut each photo of Ash and Misty to a precise and perfect size. She carefully noted that, indeed, they were meant for eachother. Just by the happiness gleaming in eachother's eyes that they showed prooved that they enjoyed nothing more then being in eachother's presence. She quietly sighed to herself, wondering if someone would ever be making a collage of her and her true love sometime in the future.  
  
"Rach, can I ask you something?"  
  
For a short moment, she wondered if he would propose to her. This, coming from her wildest dreams, amused her more then she could ever know as a small smile spread across her face.  
  
"As long as its not a trick question."  
  
Brock cleared his throat, "Not to make us feel stupid or anything", he paused "but where are we supposed to paste these pictures on? Do you have any carboard pa - -"  
  
"Yes," she interrupted "and I still feel bad we couldn't just super glue these pictures onto their own bodies. I'd like to see how they could stop thinking of eachother then." Her slightly mischievious grin went unnoticed.  
  
Racheal's admiration for them only grew stronger as she looked at more pictures of Ash and Misty that Brock had at once been saving for bribery. Confusion crossed her features when she saw a picture of Ash with bandages on his arm and Misty at his side, seeming to look very sorry for the poor boy. They seemed not more then only 10 years old in the picture and Ash looked like he was in an incredible amount of pain.  
  
"What..err.. happened here? Wait, do I want to know if Misty has a violent side? No, right?"  
  
Brock tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out what really did happen.  
  
His face brightened up when the strange memory returned to him.  
  
"That was when Misty first learned how to do a cartwheel and err.. she went right into Ash." He shrugged.  
  
"See, and to think I never thought that was possible."  
  
"Just to think."  
  
Another moment of silence went by as they continued making their collage of 'Romantic/Freakishly Strange Ash and Misty Moments'.  
  
Brock's eyes examined each part of the picture closely, darting across any details that didn't seem romantic. Racheal's job was to check for anything that didn't bring a small smile to your face. After each picture was closely examined, they would decide if it was worthy of going into the collage.  
  
"You know, I never really knew guys like you had a nice side." She said in an attempt to be rid of the thickening silence.  
  
She began to explain immediatly after she noticed the hurt look on his face.  
  
"What do you mean, 'guys like me'?"  
  
"No, no. I meant guys that love girls as much as you do. I thought they usually go after ever human they see that doesn't have manhood, and everytime they get turned down they get more angered and upset," she paused, "but your completely different from them! You give a new meaning to that song 'I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again', you know?"  
  
She looked him over, but all he did was continue to work on the pictures.  
  
"I'm sorry, do I talk to much?" She said, with a hint of anger in her voice, placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"No, I just didn't really have much to say to that. So, maybe that's why you probably felt like you were talking to a wall, added to the fact of stupidity you must of felt." His voice seemed emotionless.  
  
She pretened to have ignored his last sentence and bit her tongue which prevented her from asking any questions about the next picture they came across.  
  
In the picture, it seemed like Misty and Ash had just gotten out of an argument, but their mischief was still alive. They both made "bunny-ears" on eachother's head. Racheal could almost assume what the thoughts were going threw eachother's heads.  
  
'Misty's would be something like 'If he thinks 'i'm sorry' means I'm never doing bunny-ears to him again, he's crazy.' Ash seems like the type of person who would be thinking 'Oh yeah, I'm getting her back good with this one.. Well, not that good, but good enough'. ' Racheal thought to herself, relieving some of the discomfort she had before with the earlier conversation with Brock.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
She looked up at Brock, a bit startled by his sudden apology.  
  
"For what?" Curiosity swam along her tone of voice.  
  
"Being a jerk... A girl-obsessed and pikachu-cookie obsessed jerk. I took that a bit too far."  
  
"Tell me about it." She said in a jokingly tone, looking up for a moment to smile at him, assuring him everything was alright between them.  
  
As more pictures were scanned for any romance, a strange one managed to catch Brock's eye.  
  
"Who took this picture?"  
  
The picture had Misty and Ash, sound asleep next to eachother. From the expression on their faces, it seemed like they were dreaming of heaven..err or eachother. Ash's arm protectively went around Misty's waist, which became an automatic thing if they were sleeping close to eachother.  
  
"I did." She smiled down at it, admiring her photography talents.  
  
"You really managed to capture them in this one. They look so.. peaceful and so.. in love" He paused, "It's hard to describe. I've never actually had that true feeling before.. Err, whatever Ash calls it."  
  
"Tell me about it. I don't know anymore then you do..." ,She took in a deep breath, "But who knows, maybe someday we'll both find out." She gave him an assuring smile, and looked back down at the pictures.  
  
Brock looked her over slowly, enjoying what he was seeing. He thought about the words she said and sensed how deeply she wanted love in her life. No, he sensed how deeply she needed it. He wondered if maybe someday he'd be the one to give that special gift of love to her.  
  
"Just maybe."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"That's.. just.. strange.." Misty spoke outloud, unknowing.  
  
Shuffling threw the multiple sheets of paper, yet another one caught her eye.  
  
Her eyes suddenly widened showing a mixture of horror and shock, examining the paper and the words imprinted on it in pure disbelief.  
  
"He wants me to sing a song about a floating porqupine!?" She continued, "And I thought this was illegal. Gee, silly me." The thick sarcasm rang threw her voice as she spoke. She rolled her eyes at the paper with the words on it that screamed nothing more but embarassment.  
  
Obviously, she needed someone to talk to. But who was left besides herself? She refused to allow herself to even think of the recent past events. They made her heart tremble if at any time they were recalled.  
  
Overall, she seemed to be getting along quite well. The shell she formed around herself was weakening, but for now it was enough to do the trick. The shell fooled everyone about what she was going threw, and not allowing herself to cry was making it even worse.  
  
The videos of her making fun of her sisters weren't even enough to humor her anymore, and she didn't know what else she could possibly do. When would the healing begin?  
  
Soon, she found herself throwing the papers that Jason had given her directly onto the floor. Her eyes searched for her journal, darting everywhere around the room and in her backpack.  
  
She knew she'd be able to find it eventually - - she always did. No, the journal was not a diary that she called a 'journal' because the word 'diary' sounded pathetic. Neither did it really talk about things that had happened to her in the past, yet it contained words. Meaningful and heart spoken words. Possible songs and poems were held in her journal. Words of her soul and longing of her heart was barely writeable, but she accomplished it.  
  
One poem or song that she especially adored was one that took her an abnormally long time to write and still was not complete. . She couldn't go much deeper into thought then she already had in the poem/song she wrote.  
  
Although, sooner or later she knew she would have to decide whether or not it would be considered a poem or song. She was leaning towards the idea of having it as a song, but Jason disliked it. She remembered clearly what he thought about it.  
  
"You..must.. be.. kidding..."  
  
His voice and the painful words rang threw her mind.  
  
"Oh yeah, I was joking. Completely. Yet the idea of a floating porquepine will be a pure classic. Right." She said outloud, to no one in particular.  
  
'Here you are..' She smiled, picking up the old, yet extremely valuable journal.  
  
As ideas flew threw her mind of how to end her song, she flipped through the pages frantically, trying to find the page which held the words of her heart. Her eyes searched threw the small book repeatidly with no such luck.  
  
She wondered if this was a part of a big illusion she was experiencing or she could of really lost the paper. Or, she could of simply put it in a different pocket of her backpack. She searched through each and every pocket before she noticed something burried within her backpack deeply.  
  
No, it wasn't the paper. It felt squared, like a box. Her hand reached around the object as she pulled it out curiosly.  
  
It was indeed a box which seemed to have something in it. Possibly jewelry or other accessories. This seemed strange to her, because she rarely carried any jewelry or even boxes for that matter.  
  
Her hands uncovered the top of the box with much curiosity.  
  
All at once, she felt an enormous amount of emotions overcoming her as a gasp escaped her lips. She felt her hands trembling slightly as her eyes widened in shock.  
  
She tried to keep her hand's small tremble under control as she lifted the bracelet from the box with as much gentleness as possible.  
  
'The.. bracelet...' She said almost below a whisper with a mixture of awe and shock.  
  
She went over every detail of it, making sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. Every gem was there.. The structure was exactly the same.. Everything was just as perfect as she remembered it to be.  
  
She thought she lost it forever that night, but somehow, by some miracle, she saw it in her back pack and in a box with a note.. - - with a note?!  
  
After wrapping the bracelet around her small wrist, she looked threw the box, the shock or awe never leaving her eyes, but only increasing. Yes, there was a note. A small one. The message seemed to be brief as well.  
  
She lifted it almost more gentle then how she lifted the bracelet. She read the words outloud, tracing each mark made by the pen the note was written with.  
  
"I'm not going to let you go."  
  
She exhaled, not realising she was holding her breath in the first place.  
  
She ran her fingertips along the surface of the note, her hands still trembling in awe, with happiness beginning to surface in her heart. The happiness swam throughout her heart, which was quite a good switch from the sadness.  
  
She looked at the bracelet and back at the note, knowing for sure who returned her bracelet to her.  
  
"Then I hope you hold on to me tight, Ash.." She sighed, bringing the note closer to her chest. Her hopes were never so high before.  
  
  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Rach..", He cleared his throat, "I need a favor from you."  
  
She crossed her arms over her chest, unimpressed.  
  
"And I need you to come into the lobby so me and Brock can show you something."  
  
He cocked his eyebrow, "You guys aren't exactly planning on mooning me, are you?", He continued before she could interrupt, "Because as far as amusing that would be for you guys, I need a big favor."  
  
"What makes you think I'd give you the pleasure of mooning you?" She remained emotionless, hiding the fact that she felt offended because he thought she'd go that far in embarrassing her and herself. Sure, maybe she was tempted on beating him around, but she let that idea slide.  
  
He cleared his throat once more, "I need you to make something for me."  
  
By the look on her face, he grew even more worried he would not get her help on his little project.  
  
At the same time, she dismissed the thought that he may of known about the collage of him and Misty because it was purely impossible.  
  
"What?"  
  
'Ok.. Good sign. She didn't say 'no' yet.' He thought, trying to encourage himself.  
  
"I need to get the beat of this song. I want it to be slow.. And I want her to sing it", he paused, "She did write it afterall."  
  
"Who?" Her face clearly expressed she was growing with interest.  
  
"Misty."  
  
  
  
  
  
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yeaa. i think this got a little better. ^^; i promise next chapter will be out sooner and will be longer. ^^ i can't wait to give you guys more info on the story. its going to get exciting. err.. at least i hope you guys think it is and will be. ^-^ -skips away happily- 


	14. Picture Perfect

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº~Âº  
  
  
  
"You know, I could easily have you arrested for dragging me places I don't want to go." Ash mumbled, forcefully pulling his arm away from Brock's grasp as he gave up on fighting back.  
  
"Racheal has enough will to drag you, but not enough strength. Fortunately, I'm here for that", He paused as a thought came to his mind, "And to think, no matter how heartbroken or lonely you are, you still attempt to threaten a nineteen year old, whose much, much bigger then you are."  
  
"Do you mean 'much, much, bigger' weight wise? Or were you referring to your puny arms that supposedly hold strength within them?" He snickered, despite the fact that he was still at risk of literally being dragged across the hallways and down steps again.  
  
"Who can drag who?" Brock grinned mischievously.  
  
"Who fished who out of a lake two and a half years ago?" Ash hissed.  
  
"Who trained who how to become a better Pokemon trainer?" Brock snapped.  
  
"Who is scared if I break a pikachu-shaped cookie?" Ash shot back at him with a small grin, thinking he won the little battle. Right.  
  
"Who still owns an extensive collection of video tapes that can easily be turned into bribery instead of happy fun-filled memories?"  
  
Ash opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He decided to give up. It was getting old, and quite frankly, he was scared about the large amount of bribery that Brock kept hidden quite well.  
  
"Sometimes you really can scare me. I don't know how, but you do", Ash shrugged, "I just don't know."  
  
"You scare me too with that brain of yours. It scares me to wonder what your thinking." Brock wasn't pushing or grabbing Ash's arm anymore because it seemed that Ash was unknowingly walking along side Brock willfully.  
  
"Nice to know. You make me feel more special everyday."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
Their conversation consisting of pure sanity (not to mention the sarcastic remarks). It seemed to be as strange as possible.  
  
Deep down, Ash felt nervous and worried. He didn't know what Brock and Racheal made, and almost didn't want to know. He didn't want Misty to feel embarassed, and he wasn't much in the mood to feel embarrassed either.  
  
As they neared Racheal's room, where the "surprise" was kept, he felt his heartbeat quickening slowly. He already dismissed the idea of turning around suddenly and running away. Yes, it was beyond immature, but no one said immaturity could keep his little plan from working.  
  
He wondered what Misty would say. He wondered what he would say. He wondered if Brock and Racheal would be laughing. And if they were laughing, how hard would they be laughing? Only time would tell as Brock and Ash entered the room, somewhat noticed.  
  
Misty was sitting on her bed, looking over the painting repeatedly. Ash wasn't sure if she pretended to not know who just entered the room, or if she really didn't care. Either way, he wouldn't blame her.  
  
He remembered his last plan. It was to go up to Misty and hug her until she forgave him or at least until she stopped trying to get away. Gratefully, he came up with his current plan and it was going quite smoothly... Or it seemed so. At least it was a lot better and more creative then his original plan.  
  
Racheal and Brock stood on the opposite sides of their creation, getting ready to reveal it to their "audience".  
  
"Presenting to Mr. Ketchum and Miss. Wildflower. Ta da!" Racheal and Brock said unison as they both pulled off the small sheet covering their work of art.  
  
Ash and Misty looked it over a minute, not speaking. They looked slightly in shock, but confused. They were probably more confused then shocked.  
  
"Wha...What is it?" Misty muttered, tilting her head to the right a little.  
  
"Please demonstrate, Professor - - ", Racheal searched through her mind for Brock's last name, but couldn't find it, "Professor..err.. Brock."  
  
"Now, if you observe closely, these are multiple pictures of two people together, happy, and very much in love. For example, in this dandy picture, they are in a lake together, splashing eachother flirtatiously", He paused to clear his throat, "And to get more romantic, here they are sleeping together peacefully, in eachother's arms."  
  
Ash recalled the memory of them sleeping together quickly as he turned to face Racheal.  
  
"You were taking pictures!"  
  
"Err.. Yes."  
  
"Oh, I suppose it was just peachy that you had a camera right there in your bag for your own use. Or do you always carry around your camera for picture taking? Yes, picture taking specifically for people sleeping?" Ash said accusingly, not sure what he had to accuse her for.  
  
"Who cares. Stop making a big deal." Misty shrugged.  
  
Misty quickly added before Brock could continue, "And stop doing the weird 'professor' thing with the proper speaking."  
  
Racheal smiled nervously as she felt an awkward silence beginning to settle in. She motioned for Brock to continue on with his little speech. The silence had to be broken somehow, even if it meant listening to Brock's observation.  
  
"Now, it is very clearly observed that it seems like nothing could ever separate these two people, but it seems something has", He cleared his throat nervously yet again, "I mean, what could have happened to set these two apart so badly that it could not be fixed? Honestly. Everything has a solution to it."  
  
"What is this? Because whatever you guys think it is, I honestly don't want to see it." Misty turned away from the little collage, not being able to look at it anymore. She somewhat believed that Ash was disgusted by the collage.. The same way he had been disgusted at her that night.  
  
"Your going to have to look at it sometime." Ash said quietly, speaking to her for the first time since a couple of weeks.  
  
She immediately looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"I, Misty Wildflower, have to look at it? I'm sorry, was that added to one of the things a human needs for survival? Because then, I just may look at it and try to understand it, but now, as long as I know that breathing is the only thing I need to do is stay alive and not look at that collage, I think I'm set."  
  
Racheal sighed, leaning against the wall.  
  
"Here we go.." Brock muttered, praying that a fight wouldn't begin.  
  
"I wasn't talking about the collage. I meant about us", he ran a hand through his hair as he searched his mind for the right words, "You can't run from this problem, and you can't run from me."  
  
His eyes locked with hers as he searched through her to try to find any hope. The search wasn't going too well.  
  
Misty reached across the bed and took a hold of the painting and held it in her arms, pressed against her chest.  
  
"Watch me."  
  
She wasn't brave enough to face him or their problem yet, and all she knew she could do for now was to run. Run away as fast as she could. Deep down, her heart could only pray Ash would be fast enough to catch her.  
  
"Thanks, Rach", she slowly walked to the door as she spoke, "And, Brock, nice shot with the proper professor talk thing. Thank you."  
  
She left the room just as Pikachu entered, Pikachu going almost unnoticed.  
  
"So much for that." Brock shrugged.  
  
"I thought you guys would be making out by now for sure." Racheal sighed hopelessly.  
  
'Whats going on?' Pikachu wondered around the room, searching for any hints as to what took place.  
  
Ash's emotions were unexplainable at the time. He kept searching through himself, trying to find some hope that things would be all right. He knew Misty had very little, but at least she had some.  
  
"Are you going to help me?" Ash said, mostly out of nowhere.  
  
'Does anyone know whats going on?' Pikachu looked up at everyone curiously, impatience slowly setting on.  
  
Racheal turned to look at him with a sad sigh, knowing there was no other way that Ash and Misty could be happy again unless she helped him.  
  
'What is going on?! Are you not answering me because I'm short?!' Pikachu put his hands on his hips.  
  
"Yes. I'll help." Racheal smiled back at the grateful smile she immediately received from Ash.  
  
"Thank you. I'm going to go get the papers..and, guys, I'd hate to say this, but I think I haven't learned to block out Pikachu completely yet, so I'm going to need extra ignoring lessons, ok?"  
  
"Sounds like fun." Brock bit his bottom lip, trying to not laugh at the expression on Pikachu's face.  
  
'Excuse me, Ashy, but who exactly put the Psyduck to sleep? You know, the psyduck trying to do the funky dance moves to scare me?'  
  
Ash cringed at his disliked nickname, 'Ashy', but continued to ignore Pikachu.  
  
"The lessons really aren't kicking in here, Brock."  
  
Racheal began to sense either a big fight about to start or someone about to be very badly electrocuted.  
  
"Aw, Ash, please go get the papers for me while I get Pikachu some ice cream from the lobby, ok?" Racheal happily picked up Pikachu in her arms as she walked out of the room. Ash ignored the part where Pikachu stuck his tongue out at him.  
  
Brock ran a hand through his hair tiredly.  
  
"I helped her with this and do I get ice cream? No, the little adorable yellow mouse gets all the treats because he's supposedly cute." Brock folded his arms over his chest.  
  
Ash's eyes widened at Brock, wondering if he heard him correctly.  
  
"Let me get this straight.. Your jealous of my Pikachu?", He used all of the strength in his body to hold in any laughing as he patted Brock's back, "When was your last doctor's visit?"  
  
  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Hey, you all set to do some recording? 'Floating Porcupine' is a sure hit!" Excitement happily made itself known in Jason's voice as he spoke.  
  
Misty looked up at him tiredly.  
  
"Honestly, I think I'm scared of singing a song like that. Isn't that a sin to sing about floating porcupines in some religions?"  
  
He started to laugh as he slapped Misty's back playfully, almost knocking her off the park bench.  
  
"Your so funny."  
  
She smiled slightly, slowly returning her attention to the painting.  
  
"So", Jason began, trying to start up a conversation and bring her attention away from the painting, "When do you want to start recording?"  
  
She held in the temptation to start laughing historically, directly in his face.  
  
"We're sitting in a park. Not exactly much of a recording studio, Jason."  
  
"We can always go there, doll. I don't see why your sitting here, staring at that picture." He slyly sat himself down next to her, as close as possible.  
  
"It's a painting. And, it's mine. Well, its half-mine."  
  
"Did you make it?" He was well prepared to praise her for it if she made it, but if she didn't, he also didn't mind telling her his true feelings about it.  
  
"I wish I could make something like this."  
  
"Why?" He spoke the word in such a way that she immediately knew exactly what he thought about the painting.  
  
"Because it holds so much meaning and love." She lightly ran her fingertips against the surface of the painting.  
  
"I don't understand it. It's just a guy and girl. I think the only reason you like it is because you look like the girl in it and I look like the guy." Jason smiled confidently.  
  
Misty turned to look at him, almost afraid to wonder what was going threw his mind.  
  
"Jason, you have blonde hair.. Ash has black. Are you seeing this?" She almost wanted to bite her tongue for going as far as sounding like he was a moron. Well, he sorta was.  
  
Jason's eyes slowly came to surely represent nothing but anger at the mention of Ash's name. Jealousy was slowly overtaking him. She always feared looking deep into his eyes because she didn't want to see the anger in his heart and soul. She didn't want to see what kind of person he truly was. She didn't want to know.  
  
"Actually...", Jason spoke through clenched teeth as he snatched the painting from Misty, "I'm not sure what's left to see here, doll."  
  
Horror filled her eyes as she watched him lift the painting in the air and forcefully bring it down to meet the ground, getting the surface of the painting quite dirty. She wondered if she'd still be able to look at the painting and see the same things.  
  
"I thought I told you I didn't want to hear his name. And I especially don't want to see you staring at drawing of him! He's got you hooked on him and he's going to control you, don't you see it? He's already controlling you and you don't realize it!"  
  
Misty shook her head, trying not to believe the words coming out of his mouth as she leaned down to pick up the painting. She quickly tried to get the dirt stains off the surface, only using her own shirt. She could barely believe how far he was taking this.  
  
Jason once more snatched the painting from her hands and hurled it towards the ground, damaging it even more.  
  
"I don't want you to go near that painting, Misty. It'll ruin your music career!"  
  
Misty narrowed her eyes at him angrily.  
  
"I don't care." She hissed.  
  
He grinned evilly, taking the painting in his hands with greed, anger, and jealousy evident in his eyes.  
  
"This painting and Ash himself will destroy your life and we won't be able to be together!" He growled.  
  
She stared at him wide-eyed.  
  
"Jason, I'm not sure if it dawned on you yet, but that it's just a painting..", she dismissed any thoughts about pouncing on him and grabbing the painting back, "And who said anything about us about to be together?", she paused as another thought entered her mind, "And can I please have that back?!"  
  
"Seems like death suites you well, Ketchum." Jason muttered low enough so that Misty didn't hear. Or at least he thought Misty didn't hear it. He simply continued to look at Misty in disgust as if she cheated on him.  
  
His eyes held so much hatred and jealousy, she wondered how a person could become like this. It almost made her forget about what she thought he said. She tried to convince herself that she was just illusinating. Jason wouldn't say that.. right?  
  
Her hands trembled slightly as she reached out to him. She feared for the painting, and she wanted to get it away from him. She needed to get away from him, nevermind the painting.  
  
"NO!" Jason growled, forcefully pushing her away, almost knocking her down to the ground. He breathed heavily with anger as he turned to look around him.  
  
Some people stopped to stare at what was going on, others were too scared to stop and stare. They figured that Jason would pull their eyes out if they stared at him being in this state.  
  
"I'm going." As Jason walked towards the exit of the park, he passed a garbage bag. He shoved the painting into the garbage bag, giving a look of warning towards Misty that clearly screamed 'If you try to get it, you'll be the next thing going into the garbage bag.'  
  
Misty stood there stunned. What more could she do that she wasn't affraid of doing? She was going to get that stupid painting back.  
  
  
  
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yes, yes, bad cliffhanger yet again. ok. Ash's plan will unfold even more in the next chapter. ^-^ sorry if there was any boringness in this chapter. i kinda felt some. o.o; and if anyone would like special updates on how the chapters are coming along, just email me (Tipsy801@aol.com) and I'll let you know what's going on. ^^ 


	15. Long Time No See

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
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"This is impossible." Racheal groaned, bringing her hands up in an attempt to massage her aching head.  
  
"The only thing that is impossible is this. It's truly impossible," Ash looked over what he had written, "it doesn't even make sense! God forbid I can actually make it rhyme too."  
  
Racheal rolled her eyes, continuing to press her fingers down on anonymous keys of the keyboard.  
  
He was attempting to write something that was even worth reading, and things weren't coming as planned. The available light in the small studio was fading away slowly, signaling the sun was setting and the moon was about to take its place.  
  
Racheal lost track of what she was doing a while ago, and so did Ash. How was she supposed to be able to make a beautiful tune out of Misty's words, but no girl to sing it? Even if she did find someone to sing it, no one would fit the part better then Misty. The words came from her heart, and it could only be sung from her heart as well.  
  
As if things weren't confusing enough, she wasn't sure why she was helping him. Maybe she felt better within herself when she saw Ash and Misty together, maybe she was simply a helpful person, or maybe she could of wanted to get closer to Brock. Maybe she even wanted to impress Brock a bit with her skills of playing cupid.  
  
"Do you by any hopeful chance have the slightest idea of how this song is supposed to go? Or just you run along this sheet of paper, stole it from Misty at the age of twelve, and decided to never return it?"  
  
He shook his head, not exactly answering her question.  
  
"Take a moment away from your soul-searching and poem writing experience and tell me how I'm supposed to get this done." She crossed her arms over her chest, expecting somewhat of an intelligent response.  
  
He shrugged, keeping his concentration firm on his writing experiment.  
  
"Have you ever heard her sing it? Would you possibly take a chance to answer my questions, and, if you do decide on answering them, you will have those answers to thank for the fact that your head will still be on your shoulders."  
  
He glanced up at her for a moment, pushing away the desire to laugh hysterically and instead ran a hand through his hair nervously. If he only knew people could become this frustrated after working for ten minutes, he would have quit his poem-writing before he even thought of the idea.  
  
"A tape." He muttered, meeting her angry glare but turning away in just a second. He didn't know if she'd be upset at the fact that NOW he remembered he had the tape and not before, or if she'd be extremely happy.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him, looking him over carefully as she wondered if she should let her hopes go high enough to the point of which he thought he actually spoke the word 'tape'.  
  
"Please repeat that..", she paused, "Please say what I thought you said.."  
  
"I have an old tape, Racheal."  
  
She silently thanked the Heavens for the wonderful words that came out of his mouth.  
  
"How much more do I have to seem like I really need that tape without actually asking for it?"  
  
She grinned when he finally put down his pencil and started for the door, with a mission on his mind: Get Racheal the old, yet wonderful tape.  
  
"By Gosh, this boy is quite the clever one today."  
  
'If she always acts this persistent when she has a job to get done, I'd give her a million of those tapes just to keep her in somewhat of a silence.' His thoughts ran through his mind, praying that he'd at least be able to remember where he left the tape.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Of course someone just had to go and buy four slices of pizza as if they were going to, gasp, eat it. But, to make things more interesting, they decide to throw it all in the garbage.."  
  
"So that's exactly what the painting flew into?" Pikachu tilted his head, examining the painting more closely.  
  
"No, my little friend, it did not fly, it was purposely forced into the garbage can due to the laws of gravity."  
  
Misty silently wondered for the twentieth time that if she attempted to fix it, could it possibly get any worse than how it was now?  
  
"Interesting."  
  
"Isn't it?"  
  
"Incredibly."  
  
"Do you think just soap and water would be good?" Misty knew it was impossible to fix up, but she had to at least suggest some ideas.  
  
Pikachu yawned, scratching the back of his neck.  
  
"Maybe if you talked to Ash, that would be good."  
  
She almost felt a bit awkward when it came to hearing his name being spoken. She hadn't spoken or heard his name in a while, and it was different. She was growing accustomed to it, but she knew she wanted that to change.  
  
"Stay on the issue."  
  
"I want to go to sleep." Pikachu didn't want to attempt to fix something impossible to fix. All he knew was that he needed strength for the next battles, and the only way he could find that strength was by sleeping.  
  
"Such a hopeless pikachu you are", she yawned for a moment, "What if your at a battle and you act as hopeless as your acting now? Then what? Will you maybe assist those food-wasters of people, buy perfectly fine pizza, and throw it in the nearest garbage bag?"  
  
She knew she couldn't win an argument with Pikachu now of all times - - not when they were both tired enough to fall off a cliff and not notice until they hit the ground and went through a couple of Earth's layers of rock.  
  
"Your both paranoid", he rested his head on a comforting pillow, "Just buy a new one once the artist makes copies. Let it go."  
  
Pikachu's carelessness was beginning to frustrate her even further, and she was going to get him back for that.  
  
"Don't you recall that time you and What-was-her-name took a..err.. unique pictures together?" A smile twitched at Misty's lips as she recalled the memory.  
  
Pikachu closed his eyes, beginning to attempt to ignore Misty with all the strength in his little body.  
  
"I believe you and What-was-her-name remember the day as being themed 'Yellow Electric Mouses United', correct?"  
  
"Molly..was..her..name.." Pikachu muttered, proving that his attempts at ignoring her were futile.  
  
"Right. So, you and Molly took many, many pictures together that day, if I'm remembering this the right way." She was sure to emphasize on the words 'many.'  
  
After Pikachu stuffed a pillow over his ears, she took this as a signal to continue.  
  
"And I can also remember how you acted when you lost one of those pictures. You threatened me with your electric cheeks if I didn't tell you where it was, even though I didn't have the slightest idea." Misty folded her arms over her chest, waiting for his response.  
  
"What is your point? Besides that I managed to control myself enough so that I didn't electrify you."  
  
"My point is that you cared for those pictures because they were your memories with Molly. Even though she was gone forever, you had those pictures in your mind and heart to remember the past and memories," she turned away from him for a moment, "Sure, I have those pictures with Ash from the past.. But that painting, Pikachu, that was the future I always..hoped.. for."  
  
Pikachu understood her words and knew where they were coming from. He understood her, just as Ash did.  
  
"And as long as you still have that hope, you deserve the future you always wanted."  
  
"Thank you, my wise little yellow friend."  
  
"Your welcome. Now, in return, I want you to go to sleep and leave me in peace", He yawned, "Goodnight." Pikachu rolled over until he was laying on his stomach and finally left his eyelids to fall over his eyes.  
  
"Night."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Pikachu wasn't capable of sleeping in the dark gloomy space called a hotel room and rock of a bed. He knew he wouldn't have been able to sleep in Ash's room, so either way he was doomed to a sleepless night.  
  
His eyes wondered around the room out of boredom. There wasn't much else he could do to prepare for how tired he was going to feel in the morning.  
  
Suddenly, he saw a bright light for a split second out of the corner of his eyes. He immediately glanced at Misty's wrist, where he believed the source of light was coming from. The light seemed to shine for a moment then suddenly disappear, and he knew it wasn't the moon that was already somewhat lighting the room.  
  
He lifted his head in an attempt to get a closer look at her wrist.  
  
After looking closely at it for a couple of seconds, he realized what it was. A warm smile spread across his little face, extending up to his cheeks.  
  
Misty was wearing the bracelet again, and it was about time. Pikachu's hopes of Misty and Ash even talking to eachother were never as high as they were now.  
  
"Now things are finally getting a little better around here. Go Ash."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"We can look for it tomorrow, Racheal. I'm tired." Ash resisted the temptation to slap her, even though he feared that if he did so she'd be more awake and it would take longer for her to fall asleep. He didn't even bother glancing at the clock, knowing it was ridiculously late.  
  
"I'm looking for the tape. I want to find it badly. I need to get this done." She looked through Ash's bag for the twenty-fifth time.  
  
"That's why there's tomorrow."  
  
"No, that's why there's four o' clock in the morning."  
  
"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow.. Your only a day away.. Don't you ever think of that little girl, who sings that song, that's trying to tell you to go to sleep?!" He crossed his arms over his chest tiredly.  
  
"Never."  
  
He sighed with frustration as he sat down onto the bed.  
  
"Goodnight. Get out of my room or I'll find a freakishly large man to help you decide which window you would like to get thrown through."  
  
"As kind as that offer is of you, I think I'll gladly escort myself out of here with your bag so I can look through it one more time. Is that all right?" She picked up the bag and walked towards the door.  
  
"As if you wouldn't take my bag if I said 'no'."  
  
"Great. See you in the morning."  
  
"Goodnight." He allowed himself to finally fall back onto his bed in relaxation.  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief, sounding beyond grateful that Racheal gave up on looking for the tape. Well, she didn't really give up, but at least she was still looking for it without annoying him.  
  
Everything seemed to be annoying him lately.. Everyone was annoying him as well. Was this a side effect of not having Misty in his life? He grinned at the irony of him claiming she was annoying once. If anything, she was the one who kept him from getting annoyed so easily.  
  
As thoughts peacefully wondered in his mind as he felt himself drifting off into sleep, he was interrupted by something irritating his back. He figured it was the remote control and it wasn't going to walk away and leave him alone. He tiredly stood up from the bed and searched for the small rectangular object that was currently on his list of 'Annoying Objects/People of the Day'.  
  
He uncovered the sheet which now revealed what was irritating his back. His eyes expressed a mixture of horror and shock. Horror came from imagining what Racheal would do to him. The shock came from how Racheal actually would go about attacking him.  
  
"The tape."  
  
He brought his hands to his face and groaned.  
  
"The...stupid..tape.." He managed to get the dreaded words out through his clenched teeth.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Pikachu laid on the bed with his eyes open as he stared at the ceiling. Afraid of moving, he decided to wait for Misty to wake up so that she could possibly carry him around or at least bring him to Ash until his bones became less stiff.  
  
"Pure... pain..." He muttered.  
  
He wondered if anyone ever walked again after attempted to sleep on those "beds". A thought crossed his mind about Misty not being on the other side of the bed. What if she decided to get up early? What if she was in the bathroom because of a sudden urge to pee? What if she.. left?  
  
He couldn't deny the fact that every time he wondered about where Misty was, he had to wonder if she left him, Ash, and Brock. It's the first time he considered something so ridiculous, ever since Ash and Misty were torn apart.  
  
Pikachu was used to sleeping on the ground, but this was anything but what he was accustomed to.  
  
He slowly turned his head sideways, trying to find strands of red hair, which meant Misty would have been there.  
  
His neck was somewhat relieved yet in pain from being moved, but all together things became even worse for Pikachu when he saw no strands of red hair. Nor did he see Misty.  
  
'Probably getting an early breakfast..' He figured, dismissing the thought that she may have left permanently.  
  
Suddenly he felt his neck crack slightly, signaling his bones were trying to get back into their usual position.  
  
"Err.. That was new.."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Misty yawned, trying to avoid as much light as possible. She was experiencing a major headache, and she wasn't going to allow bright light to make it worse. She made her way down half the hallway, taking her time. She was squinting somewhat, trying to shield her eyes from the brightness.  
  
Her head pounded fiercely, making it difficult to think. She was almost forgetting where she was going and why she was going there. After she caught a scent of the freshly baked pancakes making its way up the stairs, she immediately remembered.  
  
If the hotel didn't offer beds that were more comfortable then sleeping in multiple trees at the same time, they at least obtained the talent of cooking.  
  
With sudden and careless movements, she felt her own body accidentally collide into another. Her headache pounded even harder in objection to the sudden incident as she felt herself fall forward onto a strong, warm chest. She opened her eyes for a split second to see a streak of black hair before the stinging pain to her eyes made her snap them shut again.  
  
And this, all happening within a second, she managed to get a scent of the cologne that seemed to be surrounding the other person. It smelled familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.  
  
"They're better off turning the hotel into a restaurant." She muttered after allowing a tired groan to escape her lips.  
  
She heard the other person let out a small gasp as they realized who she was. They helped her up so she could stand, still not being able to find words that could fit this situation.  
  
"And by the way, I'm sorry. I didn't exactly see where I was going because of their amazing light system, which could most likely outshine the sun."  
  
"Or you couldn't see because of your obvious migraine?"  
  
She recognized his voice as quickly as her vision of him came into better view. She felt her heart begin to race as her headache suddenly didn't seem as big as it would be within a couple of minutes.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Your irresponsible and horrible author got a chapter out. yes, its true. it's not a delusion ^^; I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Ash's plan should start taking big effects on things pretty soon. I wonder if I have any readers left.. o.O;  
  
And also, chapter 16 will be posted on my new pen name: Hollyray. I will change 'kawaiisakura' to 'Hollyray' on June 3rd. ^-^ See you all then! 


	16. Pancakes Finally Crumble

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish or how much fairy dust I use, Pokemon will never belong to me. ;-; I only own a strange little bird, but you dont want him. ^^ But the characters that were created out of my own imagination were Racheal, Jason, and Aydee. ^^ Thankyou! ^-^  
  
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She recognized his voice as quickly as her vision of him came into better view. She felt her heart begin to race as her headache suddenly didn't seem as big as it would be within a couple of minutes.  
  
"Or could it be possible that you, gasp, didn't see where you were going? Could it be possible that you may have been in fault in this situation? You know, God forbid you were ever at fault because then the whole world would come to an end, wouldn't it?" The sarcasm was thick in her voice, as well as her anger.  
  
He searched his mind for the right words.. but this wasn't the right time. What it was, was an awkward time. At least for Ash it was anyway.  
  
While quickly looking over her upset figure, he recognized what she was carrying. Even through the painting's dirt, he recognized it. Finally, the words he was looking for came to him.  
  
"What happened?" He asked, motioning to the painting.  
  
"There was an accident." She pushed the loose couple of strands of hair behind her shoulder and began her walk downstairs, without further speaking to him.  
  
"That went somewhat well.. It's a start.." He sighed.  
  
He ran a hand through his hair, not feeling as hopeful as he had felt before about speaking to her.  
  
He knew that if he attempted to call her back, she wouldn't listen even if he offered her money. He didn't bother trying either. Suddenly he felt his hope slowly disappear into nothing and had the idea that his main plan wouldn't go so well. She was going to be a challenge, and he was going to win her back no matter how hard of a challenge she was going to make herself out to be.  
  
He needed a new plan.. A flawless one. Everything had to be nothing short of perfect. He began his walk back to his own room, getting ready to pack up. He prayed that on his way to the next battle he'd figure out something. Hopefully. Racheal wouldn't be happy about the sudden switch of plans, but he felt like his original plan would not be enough. Or Racheal wouldnt have enough to strength to deal with him during the middle of the current plan. Either way he had no choice but to figure out something new.  
  
  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Misty concentrated on her food in her plate. As hungry as she thought she was, that obviously wasn't the case if she continued to try to break the world's record for highest tower of pancakes.  
  
She felt strange after her run in with Ash. She felt different. In a sense, she was almost happy to have seen a small bit of care in his eyes for her. She didn't know for sure that the concern in his eyes was directed towards her, but she liked to think so.  
  
'I shouldn't be thinking this. I should be concentrating on my amazing tower of pancakes. Nothing else.' The thoughts ran to her mind unknowingly as her normal morning routine.  
  
She tilted her head to her side, trying to see if the pancakes weren't tilting or threatening to fall anytime soon. That was when Racheal saw her over the pancakes. She didn't need Misty to tilt her head in order for Racheal to realize who it was. The tower of pancakes made it pretty obvious.  
  
"You know, there are many, many hungry children over the world that would be dying to consume your project", She paused, "Yet I think they'd understand if they knew this was your unique way of handling your emotional crisis."  
  
Misty raised her eyebrows at Racheal.  
  
"Your kidding."  
  
"You'd be laughing if I was kidding. Is this a way to attempt to deal with your love with him? Abusing the privilege of eating pancakes?" She grinned, very well knowing she was starting Misty up too early in the morning.  
  
"What love for him? You know that thing called closure, Rache? He's experienced it with me and I've experienced it with him, my friend." Misty brought all of her attention back to the lovely pancakes.  
  
"Right. And if you truly believed that, you wouldn't be sitting here trying to make a tower of pancakes." She took a seat across from Misty, making herself comfortable.  
  
She continued, "If you think about it, your just trying to avoid the whole situation."  
  
"Oh, okay, sure. So, is it official? Are you my new psychiatrist?"  
  
Racheal rolled her eyes.  
  
"And then you attempt to act like none of this means anything to you. Your clever, but not clever enough." Racheal smiled triumphantly when she didn't hear any quick sarcastic remark from Misty in less then two minutes.  
  
"Burn. Just burn." Misty planted another pancake on top of all of the others.  
  
"The only thing that's going to burn are those pancakes. I can't believe you missed those dirty looks the chef has been giving you. I mean, I'd be upset too if someone tried building things with the food I cooked."  
  
Misty yawned carelessly, continuing to attempt to care about the pancakes more then what Racheal was trying to get through her suddenly thick head.  
  
"And what exactly happened this morning? I think it was made obvious to the whole hotel that you walked away from him. Such powerful shoes you have, Mist. They're loud."  
  
"I was wearing slippers and by gosh, look at that, I still am wearing slippers. It wasn't me, but I wish it was so I could have slightly scared him."  
  
"Its okay. There's plenty of angered couples in this hotel room that I can annoy about the arguments they've had, but I'm choosing the short one you and Ash had this morning."  
  
"What argument? Your delusional." Misty sighed, searching her plate for any left over pancakes.  
  
"I heard your voices. Hell, I heard both of you clash into each other. What happened?"  
  
"Just by the way he looked at me there's only one thing to say, Rache. He doesn't care either." Misty bit her bottom lip. If she was saying this a few years ago, she probably wouldn't have had the courage to keep from crying.  
  
"And just by the way I see you building together those pancakes, I'd say he cares enough to make you care. And this isn't just the normal type of care, Mist. This is the building care, my friend."  
  
"Your not making sense. And I think my mind would feel much less disturbed if you kept yourself from making sense. Therefore I wouldn't have to understand you."  
  
Racheal laughed lightly, looking over Misty with knowing eyes.  
  
"You'll understand. You see, now that I've got you thinking about Ash and how you say you don't care at all about anything, you'll loose concentration of the pancakes. That just tells me right there that you care about him." She yawned loudly for a moment before saying, "I'm going to my room to pack."  
  
Misty had no answer, she was stunned. Pack? Did Racheal say 'pack'? They were leaving today? Ash was going to check out of the hotel today? That meant she had to be ready. She had no time to respond to Racheal because Racheal had already gone up to her room. Maybe she was supposed to talk to Ash earlier. Ash. She was thinking of him again. Not only was she thinking, but she was caring too.  
  
It took her a couple of moments to look down and notice that her pancakes were spread across her plate and the table. They fell.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
'She isn't falling for the charm. She isn't even going for the threats. Nothing. None of the offers, nothing at all.' Jason paced back and forth in his small room, thinking. He needed a plan. He wasn't getting Misty, and if he needed to put anyone's life on the line to get her he would.  
  
'Plus, I'm running out of money. The hotels are getting expensive. They're getting hard to follow. I can't let things get difficult on me.'  
  
He felt himself beginning to get hot in his stuffy little room. This was not helping him think at all.  
  
'I need to be more persistent. I need to show her that she's what I want, and I'm exactly what she needs. She will eventually get sick of Ash. I can feel she cant even look at him any longer, knowing that he despises her. I need to make that clear to her.' He sighed.  
  
'I need to destroy any chances he thinks he has with her and any chances she thinks she has with him. It has to happen.'  
  
If he needed to, he would go to drastic measures to get her. Including killing Ash, himself, or her. Anything. Anyone. He had to try everything. He had to keep anything from holding him down.  
  
He continued pacing back and forth in the tiny room.  
  
He remembered that he made a meeting with her in the studio today. He figured it could be his perfect opportunity to bring up her leaving Ash permanently. He needed a 'plan B' just incase if his persistent ways didn't bring her to hate Ash with a passion. That is, if she already didn't hate him with a passion.  
  
First off, he had to be positively sure that she'd meet up with him. He needed to apologize to her in a way. He figured that she was probably still upset about the painting.  
  
'I'll just get a new one. They're all over. Such true wastes of paper and paint though. Honestly.' He rolled his eyes, remembering what the picture looked like and how much he thought of it as being pure stupidity.  
  
'Ash and Misty. What a joke.' He laughed to himself as he threw himself upon his bed, simply lying there waiting for his plans to begin to take place.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"What time are we going?" Pikachu looked around the hotel room, making sure he didn't forget anything. It seemed as if he went unheard.  
  
"What time are we going?" He repeated himself.  
  
This was ridiculous. He knew people sometimes enjoyed to ignore him, but it was just plain wrong for Brock and Ash to do it at the same time and in the same room.  
  
"You know, once I kissed a frog and it got me pregnant."  
  
Brock looked down at Pikachu with widened eyes.  
  
"That's it. You have to learn how to control yourself when it comes to eating candy. Especially those overly sweet lollipops. They make you say strange things." Brock neatly folded his shirt and placed it in his backpack.  
  
"Joy. I've at least got the attention of SOMEONE in this room."  
  
Ash continued folding his own cloths and placing it into his backpack.  
  
"What do you want?" Brock sighed.  
  
"What time are we leaving?"  
  
"Sometime in the early afternoon."  
  
"Thanks for the specifics."  
  
"Anytime." Brock resisted the urge to ask Ash what he was thinking. It was all too dangerous to even look at Ash at this current time. All it gets you is a twitching eye out of all the stress of being ignored by Ash.  
  
Suddenly, Pikachu something that something gravely out of the ordinary happened. It was new, different, and slightly scary.  
  
"Brock." Pikachu tugged at Brock's pants.  
  
"Do you realize that?" Pikachu continued.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said 'joy' and you didn't start asking about Nurse Joy or anything. Did you notice that? I did."  
  
"You didn't say joy before, I don't think." A look of confusion crossed Brock's face.  
  
"No no, I did. Don't worry about it buddy, I understand that you no longer love Nurse Joy or that other one. What was her name? I remember her making a joke once about running me over with her police motorcycle thing."  
  
"Your abnormal. I bet you didn't know that either. I feel observational."  
  
Pikachu grinned. "I'm observational too. I know who your newest and latest love interest is."  
  
Brock rolled his eyes.  
  
Ash was still mumbling things under his breath, possibly talking to himself about his plan. He wasn't noticed much by Pikachu and Brock. Things were beginning to form in his mind. He figured he was going to need that white satin dress Misty wore at her first concert.. And he may need a copy of that painting.  
  
Things were definitely coming together. He figured if Misty had her original copy of the painting destroyed by a certain moron, there was always another option.  
  
To make the painting come alive.  
  
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I think I was a little confusing with that last line. ^^; sorry. You'll understand better soon.. I hope. ^^; Sorry that the chapter is slightly short, but hey, I wrote a chapter. ^-^ I plan on getting Chapter 17 out on August 27th, which is the one year anniversary of Red Rose. By gosh, I think I may have one reader thats still out there. yeaaa ^-^ I hope to see you guys very soon in Chapter 17.  
  
If you guys have any questions or want to receive emailed updates about Red Rose, email me at Tipsy801@aol.com. bai ^-^ 


	17. It's Me

Author's note:  
  
Hey guys. Yes, I'm a horrible excuse for a human, but I'm working on it. It's finally summer. I have three books to read for school, and somewhere along the line I ended up at fanficiton.net. Further more, I managed to come across "Red Rose." Yeah, I miss it more then I can describe. I'm not going to attempt to finish it before the summer it over, but there is something I can do.   
  
I'd like to give my readers, if there are any left, two options. First, if you guys would like me to continue "Red Rose" where I left off, expecting a new chapter every month, that can happen. As much as I want my writing to come first in my life, my parents prefer that school should come first. Yet, I can't just watch "Red Rose" remain unfinished.  
  
Your second option is to let me finish the story in one chapter. I plan on it being a journal entry from Ash's point of view, telling the rest of the story. There's so much more to the plot. It pisses me off not seeing the story finished.   
  
Review or e-mail me to let me know if you guys want to know what happens in one single chapter, or if you want 10 or 15 more slowly progressing chapters, which tell the story in its entirety.   
  
I want to apologize again for abandoning this story for almost a year. As gay as the excuse is, I had no time. School is hell and I had to work to get my grades. Thank you for reading this, if there is anyone reading, and I'd be more then psyched to get one reply.   
  
- Hollyray  
  
p.s. Stoko, thank you for the ultimate review that inspired me to do something about this story. 


	18. No More Games

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not mine. I have no money, don't sue.  
  
Author's note: Yes yes, it's a bit short, but hey, it's better then nothing. ^^; I hope you guys enjoy. This is one of the more gloomy chapter. All right. Go on, read ^-^  
  
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She couldn't care anymore. Lord, she didn't want to. She came to the point where not only did she feel emotional pain, but even physical pain. It was beginning to become ridiculous, and she was suddenly grateful for her more within reach career as a musician. What else was there for her?  
  
The chef shot his twentieth glare at Misty and she finally muttered to herself, "At least I paid for your poor excuses of pancakes."   
  
As she picked up the pancakes that had not survived sitting upon her little "tower," she decided that today would be her final day traveling with Ash. This was it. They would come to the point in the road where they'd have to separate. Misty would begin her walk down the path that led to her music career. Ash would begin his walk down the path that led to his well-deserved title of Pokemon Master. It was over.. or so she thought.  
  
After a half-hour of packing and constant battles with her mind, trying to not think about him, she allowed herself to glance at the bracelet. She was surprised that it was still in tact. No. Nevermind. She was surprised that she herself was still in tact.   
  
Her mind reviewed everything that happened in the past month.   
  
"God, that was a long ride," she unknowing said out loud, to no one in particular.  
  
Whatever was to happen, just had to happen. There was no use in getting in the way of fate. Everything was happening for a reason, but, God, she wished she knew why. Why her? Why her and Ash? They were so.. happy.  
  
"I guess.. This is it," she said, standing at the doorway before taking a final glance at the room, as if it had been her room since she was a child. The room did hold the memory of her and Ash sleeping in each other's arms. Perhaps that was the last time anything like that would happen. That moment was treasured.   
  
She made her walk to Racheal's room, expecting her to know when they would be leaving exactly. She was ready, or at least she tried to convince herself that she was.  
  
As she stood by the door, waiting for Racheal to answer it, thoughts wondered into her head.   
  
Why couldn't Jason be a nice guy? Well, yes, he could be when he wanted to. He was just overly possessive of Misty. Jason probably never had anything to cling on to as a child. Not a parent, not a sibling, not a friend.. That might explain why he had the need to own Misty. She was the first thing to catch his eye for a long time.. He wasn't about to let that go.  
  
'This better not be a long day,' Misty groaned at the thought. She was done with her tears. She was ready to move on, no matter what it took. The crying was getting to her. It was beginning to sicken her in more ways then she could describe.  
  
"I just want to get the hell out of here," Misty yelled through the door, trying to get to Racheal.  
  
"Right. Just give me a minute." Racheal's voice still sounded groggy, even though it was muffled through the door.  
  
"Don't tell me you're banging Brock. Please, Racheal." Misty sighed, leaning against the door right at the second that it opened, almost causing her to loose her balance.  
  
"Good morning, sunshine." The sarcasm was almost impossible to miss in Racheal's voice.  
  
"You ready to go?" Misty asked anxiously.  
  
"I'm definitely more ready then you are, my friend," Racheal muttered, half-asleep, while picking up her fairly large bags off of the floor.   
  
And so they began their search for Brock, Pikachu, and Ash.  
  
---  
  
"What exactly are you going to do?" Brock gave him a confused glance before throwing more shirts carelessly into his duffle bag.  
  
"I'm going to get the picture painted again. I assume Jason had SOMETHING to do with messing up the first one. God, you know how much she loved it?" Ash responded while recklessly throwing his items into his duffle bag.  
  
"You're not going to find that same artist in 24 hours. Why don't you just buy a copy of it for her?"   
  
Ash sighed in frustration before continuing, "Women are more complicated then that, my friend. They need you to go through hell and back before they forgive you. By the way, we need to stop by one of those women's fancy dress places."  
  
Brock stopped dead in his movement at Ash's reply.  
  
"Okay. First, since when do you of all people know everything about women and.. are you about to go transsexual?"   
  
Ash looked up at him as if lobsters were crawling out of his ears.  
  
"Brock. Listen. I'm going to buy Misty the exact same dress that was in the painting. We are going to basically make the painting come alive, if you want to get spiritual with me here." Ash resumed in packing up a few final things that he needed for the rest of his trip.  
  
"You think everything is possible, man. You're like a brother to me, but be realistic. I saw that painting and that dress is quite beautiful and rare," Brock replied, putting an emphasis on the word "rare" before continuing, "I mean, the dress was just painted on her. It doesn't mean that it exists."  
  
"I'll find it. If not, I'll friggin make it. I'll get everything I need before the trip's over, and I'm going to make everything ten times better then the painting." No one could miss the determination in Ash's voice as he zippered up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.  
  
"I'll be here to help, buddy." Brock slung his bag over his shoulder as well, walking into the bathroom to check to see if he may have forgotten anything.   
  
"We've been friends for a very long time, Brock, but this is something I've got to do entirely on my own. No help from you, Racheal, Pikachu, or anyone else. This is going to be coming from specifically me to her, so maybe she could finally understand how much I need her," Ash said as they left the room, not minding at all if Misty just heard him.   
  
"I understand." This was all Brock managed to say, while he was in somewhat of a shock at how determined and passionate Ash was about this.  
  
Only time would tell if his plan was to succeed.   
  
"I'm going to go check us out of the hotel. Meet me downstairs in the lobby when everyone is ready to go." Ash yelled as he was making his way out of the door.  
  
Brock nodded in response. Ash didn't hear any response from Brock, so he simply assumed that Brock would figure out what he was doing on his own if it had come to that.   
  
  
  
Brock himself was a bit surprised at the way Ash just confessed his entire plan to him. He wouldn't even know about Ash's previously aborted plan if it wasn't for Racheal. It was weird that Ash was this open about it. Maybe that was a sign that the plan was made to work.  
  
Brock knocked on the room that was supposed to contain Misty and Racheal, yet no one answered. He figured that they were already at the lobby, ready and waiting to go. He made his way down the stairs, nearly tripping due to the fact that he was so tired, but he survived. Hell, it was 8:30 in the morning.   
  
Brock began to remember an earlier conversation that he had with Racheal about finding true love as they tried to make the collage of "Ash and Misty Moments." After seeing everything that's happened between Misty and Ash, and Ash's extremely strong will to get her back, yes, Brock was sure that now he could easily walk up to Racheal and say, "Hey, I know what love is. Look at Ash and Misty. There it is. Love." As corny as it was, it was true. Brock was proud of his little discovery, which he secretly knew all along but failed to acknowledge until now.  
  
He corrected himself as he thought, 'Well, right now there isn't necessarily love, but, hey, as soon as he gets her back, there will be. I hope.'  
  
He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard voices discussing things. No, the voices didn't seem to be in a tone where it was considered arguing. They were discussing. In addition, he wasn't just imagining things. The voices seemed familiar. The semi-awake high feminine tone was Misty. The manlier, deeper, and groggier voice was Ash. The third, which he figured would be Racheal's voice, was anything but that. The clue that gave it away was that the voice belonged to a young man.   
  
In fact, it reminded him of Jason's voice. Brock did indeed have to suffer through Jason's idea of singing at the concert. It was funny how much this voice resembled Jason's.   
  
"That's just great," Brock couldn't help to say out loud as many possibilities entered his mind.  
  
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Author's note: Oh sweet Moses. Did I get worse at writing or did I improve? Criticism is fun. Go for it. I highly encourage complete honesty about this. Sorry about it being kind of depressing. Ohh sorry about the shortness of it too. I'm horrible at this lmao. Thanks for reading, and pleeaasee let me know what you thought! ^^; 


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